


A few clever words, a temp from Chiswick and the Man from Gallifrey. This is the story of how two companions found friendship, love and family with each other

by ChaosSexual



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Soulmates, Donna Noble deserved better than what she got, Episode Fix-It: s04e13 Journey's End, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I cant beleive DoctorDonna is an actual tag, Platonic to Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, The Doctor deserved someone who understood him, these two need to learn to communicate their feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24622333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaosSexual/pseuds/ChaosSexual
Summary: Soulmate Marks exist. For every species, 75% of the population have them.Donna Noble had something weird on her wrist, how are circles supposed to be a soulmate mark?Well, Donna was going to find out the shapes mean with the help of a Martian, his telepathic ship and their adventures
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble, Tenth Doctor & Metacrisis Tenth Doctor, Tenth Doctor/Donna Noble
Comments: 6
Kudos: 69





	1. The beginning of the story of two people connected by the markings on their wrist

**Author's Note:**

> So this was going to be a oneshot but I'm going to try and attempt a multi chapter fic.

Throughout the entire universe, in every species, on every planet and in every story, there are Soulmate Marks. They appear when a child reaches adolescence, the mark appearing overnight and in a faded colour that will burn brightly when the soulmates have found each other. These marks vary with every species, some have the last words of their soulmates, some have the first words, some have symbols which represent their soulmates and some have a print on their bodies where their soulmates will first touch them. Not everyone gets them however, the percentage of all populations that get soulmate marks is 75%. The other 25% will not have a destined Love of Their Life but they can still fall in love with someone. 

There is one prophecy, however, in all populations. Of a destined couple that will save the entire universe using a child of their making. The prophecy tells of a Woman destined to be brilliant and a Man of Time who needed someone who would help him become better. No one knows how this prophecy came about, but one could find the origin at the Planet Gallifrey, where the higher beings and Universe-balancers live. 

**Gallifrey**

A child called Theta Sigma was reaching his 200th birthday and he was excited. He wanted to know what his soulmate was going to say to him, he was hoping the words would be something good.

“Theta! Get Inside!” Theta heard his father shout and he looked back from the sunset to him. He scowled and got up, walking calmly inside. He blocked out his father yelling at him about signing up to become a soldier. He didn’t want to do that! He wanted to explore new planets and find civilisations! He wanted to learn about anything and everything that wasn’t on Gallifrey, his home planet was so boring, it was all weird robes and ‘make sure nothing threatens the Laws of Time’. Theta rolled his eyes, this whole planet was absurd, he won’t lie, he’d probably be here until the end of his regenerations. Especially if the Time Council has anything to say about it.

Luckily for Theta, he had found a Tardis in the garage. It was a Type 40 and whilst everyone was idolizing the newer models, he found them quite dull. The Tardis 40 seems to be humming, trying to form a telepathic connection with him, much to his delight. If he builds up a strong enough connection, maybe he’d be able to leave! Baz, his brother, knew of Theta’s desire to not become a soldier and he didn’t judge him for it. He had offered to take Baz on his travels when the Tardis was ready but Baz said no, wishing to stay behind and offer help to Gallifrey.

However, Theta stayed up the night of his 200th birthday, waiting for a tingle that will show his Soulmate’s first words to him. Theta’s dad had already given him a leather bracelet that Theta was to wear at all times. Time Lords didn’t really believe in Soulmates, thinking that they were more of a hindrance than an advantage. Theta was only going to wear the leather bracelet until he escaped from Gallifrey. 

Whilst he was thinking, he felt a warm tingle on his right hand and he looked down, grinning when he saw the light coming from his skin. When the light faded, he frowned when he saw what was on there:

_Who are you?_

That was an odd line, Theta thought to himself. Before he could process the words, he heard footsteps approach his bedroom and he rushed to put the leather bracelet on. His wrist felt suffocated with the bracelet on but the clasp clicked in place before the footsteps approached his door. When the door and a head popped around, Theta sighed in relief when he realized it was Baz. 

“Alright Thete?” Baz grinned and he grinned wider, looking like a Cheshire Cat when he realized Theta had the bracelet on.

“Yeah and I told you to not call me that!” Theta protested at the nickname but he smiled at Baz who approached his wardrobe.”What are you looking for?” Theta asked, frowning at the confusing behaviour.

“I am going to get you to your Tardis and you will need to leave Gallifrey within the next hour or two. I can’t explain much but there’s going to be a war and Father wants you to enrol.” Baz explained whilst throwing Theta’s clothes into his bag. 

When he was finished, Baz grabbed Theta and started to escort him to the Tardis. They had to occasionally stop as someone was walking past. Eventually they were at the garage and Baz passed Theta his bag in silence. Theta turned to his brother with tears filling his eyes “please come with me, you don’t have to fight.” he begged.

“Thete… I’m sorry but I can’t go. Go and do what you want to do, explore some planets, rescue civilisations. Make a name for yourself. But please, go, leave Gallifrey.” Baz brokenly told him.

“Baz! Please! _I can’t do this on my own_ ” Theta cried and held onto his brother, who wrapped his arms around Theta. When they pulled apart, Theta stared down at the floor and opened the Tardis door and put his bag inside, the Tardis giving him a welcoming hum in the back of his mind.

“Theta!” Baz called out and Theta came out of the Tardis. Baz pulled him into a hug.

“Stay safe please Theta, when the war is over, who knows I may find you somewhere in the universe.” Baz whispered into Theta’s hair.

“I will, and when you make it out, I will come and find you, no matter where we are in the universe, Baz, I promise I will find you.” Theta told Baz firmly and walked back into the Tardis, giving his smiling brother a wave, then Theta shut the door. 

Theta rushed to the console and started flicking different levers and buttons to help her dematerialize.”Let’s explore! New planets, civilisations, species and whatever else might be out there!” He shouted excitedly.”Let’s find a new planet for Baz then try and find my soulmate” He spoke softly, fingers tracing the leather bracelet until he could find the clasp. When he did it, he breathed a sigh of relief and traced the words on his wrist before looking up at the Tardis and smiling. He relaxed in the pilot seat as the Tardis took him somewhere. 

Baz stayed there as the Tardis made a whooshing sound and disappeared from his sight. He just hoped that Theta would have a good time out there and find his soulmate, whoever they might be.

**Chiswick, 16th May 1974**

Donna Noble was born on the 16th May and it was currently 16th May 1990, making her 16th birthday today, which also meant that she may also get her Soulmate Mark today. Isn’t it romantic? She thought to herself, a Chosen One that is your forever love. She has seen how loved-up the soulmates are and she couldn’t be any more excited for it. Her Grandad met his Soulmate Eileen and they had been in love until Eileen passed away. They had been prepared for it though, Wilf staying vigil by her bedside until she exhaled her last breath.

However, Donna has also seen how happy a non-soulmate couple could be. Her dad and mum were the best example she could think of. They were both stubborn into proving society that they could love each other with no need for a soulmate mark. They remained together for 40 years before her dad died from a heart attack. Since then, her mum has become bitter against those with Soulmate marks, and Donna, who Sylvia says reminds her of Geoffrey every day. 

So Donna sat on her bed, cross legged and flicking through a magazine, waiting for the tell-tale tingle to see her soulmate mark. She was reading a random article about Soulmates when she felt the tingle in her left wrist. She looked down and smiled, watching the light under her skin form the first words her Soulmate will speak to her. When the light dimmed, she looked down and frowned.

What? There were just shapes, no letters forming a sentence, just shapes.

This can’t be happening, she thought to herself. She rubbed her wrist, hoping words would form. Instead she just stared at the same shapes on her wrist. She huffed in frustration, it must be a mistake. Of course she has to have a faulty Soulmate mark. She’s going to be a laughing stock now. She rubbed her eyes, feeling tears prick at her eyes.

Just in time too as there was a knock on the door.“Sweetheart, can I come in?” She smiled softly, it was her Gramps. If there was anyone who wouldn’t judge her, it was her Gramps.

“Come in Gramps!” Donna called out and Wilf walked in.

“Did it happen?” He asked excitedly.

“Yes, but it’s strange.” She held out her wrist for him to look at and he frowned.

“That is strange. It’s like a new language, it’s so… alien.” Wilf muttered to himself.

“I know, do you have a bracelet or anything I can use to cover it up?” She asked, hopeful.

“Yeah, I’ll get it now,” He left for a minute then came back with a rose gold bracelet framing a white piece of marble.”Here, I was going to give it to Sylvia but I think maybe you’ll make better use of it.” He slid it on to Donna’s wrist and she gasped, she recognised that it was her grandmother’s bracelet.

“Oh Gramps, are you sure?” Donna asked, disbelieving that Wilf would give her such a precious gift. 

“Yes Donna, your gran would want you to have it.” Wilf hugged Donna and she hugged him fiercely. 

“I love you Gramps.” She whispered.

“I love you too” He told her gently. He then got up to leave but before he could leave, he turned back.”Donna, don’t worry about the Soulmate mark, It’ll all make sense one day.” With those wise words, he left and Donna sat there conflicted over her Mark. She wanted to be happy but she didn’t know what those words meant. Every one of her friends have got one, except Nerys and Hettie, and they were all in words. 

Donna groaned in frustration and turned her light off, basking in the silence that only happens in her house. She went to sleep with her thoughts reeling, her Soulmate’s first ‘words’ to her and what they could mean were the last thoughts as she fell asleep.


	2. When the two lovers first meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is a rewrite of Runaway Bride, i've changed Donna's age so she is 32 in Runaway bride, as I dont actually know how old she is.

_The Runaway Bride, 2006_

Picture this; a church decorated beautifully, numerous guests and family members waiting for a ceremony to happen, the groom, a man without a Mark, nervously fidgeting with his tie, the bride walking down the aisle with her dad, the bride screaming before she disappeared, covered in golden light…

Wait...What?

Yep, that’s right. Donna Noble, now 34 years old, was set on marrying Lance Bennett, had now disappeared from the church in a flash of golden light and a scream. Fate,or perhaps Nerys who had also seemed jealous of Lance and Donna, obviously had other plans for Donna. 

Which brought her to her current location. She turned around and there was a tall, too skinny for words man, who was also looking at her in bafflement.

“What?”

“Who are you?” 

The two strangers said the words their soulmate was going to say to them but they were too busy disliking each other to realise what was happening, their bracelets hiding the sudden light from their wrists. If they had been paying attention to their wrists, then they would’ve felt the tingle that accompanies the blue light and they could’ve taken their bracelets off and shown each other and probably would’ve run off happily.

But, alas, this isn’t a fairytale, they are both too consumed with dislike for each other to think of anything but getting rid of the other. Also, Donna is still planning on getting married, no matter what the weird man had planned. 

“How did you get in here?” The man in the suit asked Donna, much to her confusion.

“Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it.Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it.” Donna told him, rolling her eyes.

But the weird man didn’t seem to recognise the name, he seemed to be getting more and more confused as she talked.”Who the hell is Nerys?” he asked, much to Donna’s annoyance.

“Your best friend.” She stated, as if it was obvious to everyone. 

“Hold on, wait a minute. What are you dressed like that for?” He hadn’t really said that, did he? He just asked why Donna was dressed in a wedding dress, on her wedding day. How stupid is this man?

“I'm going ten pin bowling. Why do you think, dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle! I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away, and then you, I don't know, you drugged me or something!” Donna sarcastically responded, throwing her hands up in the air, as if this guy was getting on her last nerves.

“I haven’t done anything!” The man raced back to what looks to be a console of some sort, leaving Donna near the entrance.

She spotted the now free door, and ran towards it, yelling back “I'm having the police on you! Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, we're going to sue the living backside off you!”

If she had been paying attention to the man by the console, she would’ve heard him shout “No, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Don't!”. This would’ve stopped her from trying to open the door and almost stepping out into Space.

Luckily, for Donna she didn’t immediately rush out of, wherever she was. Instead she stopped abruptly as she realised that she wasn’t actually on Earth. This gave the man time to approach her slowly and stand beside her, both of them looking out into the abyss.

“You're in space. Outer space. This is my spaceship. It's called the Tardis.” The man told her, thank you Mr Captain Obvious! She could clearly see they were in space, however she was no less amazed.

Suddenly, a thought came to her “how am I breathing?”, she asked the question out loud.

“The Tardis is protecting us.” The man replied. 

“Who are you?” Donna asked him, still staring at the beautiful landscape.

“I'm the Doctor. You?” The man, now known as the Doctor, which was a silly name if you’d ask Donna, told her. 

“Donna.” Donna said simply.

“Human?”

”Yeah. Is that optional?”

“Well, it is for me.”

“You're an alien.”

“Yeah.”  
Their introduction to each other was short, Donna was more content with staring at the beautiful scene in front of her. The Doctor was content with looking at both Donna and the scene in front of her. 

“It’s freezing with these doors opened” Donna remarked and the Doctor closed the doors with a heavy slam. Their peaceful moment was broken as the Doctor ran back to the console and grabbed something out of the console room. 

“ I don't understand that and I understand everything. This, this can't happen! There is no way a human being can lock itself onto the Tardis and transport itself inside. It must be,” The Doctor grabbed something, a gadget called a ophthalmoscope, and peered into her eyes before he continued talking.”Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic-” He was on a rant but it was stopped when Donna slapped him hard enough that he stumbled back a couple of steps. 

“What was that for?” He asked scandalised, holding his hand up against his cheek.

“Get me to the church!” She yelled at him.

“Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?” The Doctor shouted back, going back to the console and waited for the location. He didn’t have to wait long.

“ Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System.” Donna sarcastically gave the last part. However, she noticed a flash of purple in the corner of her eyes and she scoffed and grabbed it, it was a blouse.”I knew it, acting all innocent. I'm not the first, am I? How many women have you abducted?” She asked him, angry at him once again.

“That’s my friend’s.” He looked at the garment with an unrecognizable look in his eyes.

“Where is she, then? Popped out for a space walk?” Donna asked

“She's gone.” The Doctor was now quiet and avoiding any eye contact.

“Gone where?”

“I lost her.”

Donna had enough and snapped “Well, you can hurry up and lose me!” she paid when she noticed the distant look in his eyes.”How do you mean, lost?” She asked, softening her tone and her expression, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach

The Doctor didn’t answer her, making the dread sit more comfortably in her stomach. He walked right up to Donna and snatched the blouse from her, throwing it down a doorway before going back to the console and pulling a lever, before saying “Right, Chiswick.!”. Donna heard a wheezing noise and held onto the railing as the ship began to move.

When the ship stopped, Donna and the Doctor stepped outside. Donna was horrified to find out that the ship had taken them somewhere that wasn’t St Mary’s.”I said, St Mary’s. What sort of Martian are you? Where’s this?” She asked the distracted Doctor.

“Something’s wrong with her, the Tardis. It’s like she’s-” The Doctor made an excited noise and ran back into the Tardis, startling Donna who turned towards him and was shocked with how big the ship was.”Recalibrating! She’s digesting!” He grabbed a stethoscope and placed it on the beam sticking out of the console.”What is it? What have you eaten? What’s wrong?” He rattled off these questions to the ship before shouting back at Donna.”Donna? You’ve really got to think, is there anything that might have caused this?” He asked.

Donna was outside, amazed at the size of the Tardis.She kept popping her head in and out of the Tardis doors to make sure that what she was seeing was correct. She was completely ignoring the Doctor who was still asking her questions. 

“Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off. What if you're dangerous. I mean, have you, have you seen lights in the sky, or did you touch something like something, something different, something strange? Or something made out of a sort of metal or. Who're you getting married to? Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he? Donna!” When the Doctor didn't have any reply from Donna, he turned around and realised she wasn’t there. He ran out and saw her walking away. He ran to catch up to her.

She was still walking determinedly to the street when he fell into step beside her, hands in his pocket looking nonchalant.”Donna” He uttered much to her annoyance.

“Leave me alone, I just want to get married.” 

“Come back to the Tardis.” The Doctor gestured behind him.

“No way, that box is too… weird.” Donna told him simply, not knowing the proper word to describe the ship, she doesn’t even know if there was one.

“It’s… bigger on the inside, that’s all.” The Doctor tried to reassure her  
“Oh! That’s all?” Donna scoffed in disbelief. She then checked the silver watch on her wrist.”Ten past three. I’m gonna miss it.” She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes but she held them back, there was no way she was going to cry in front of him. However he noticed, but for fear of making it worse, he didn’t say anything.

“You can phone them. Tell them where you are?” He suggested.

“How do I do that?” She scoffed.

“Haven’t you got a mobile?” The Doctor asked curiously. It must’ve been the wrong thing to say because Donna abruptly stopped, making him turn to face her.

“I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets.When I went to my fitting, the one thing I forgot to say was, "Give me pockets!" She started shouting at the end of her little ant and the Doctor awkwardly scratched his chin.

“This man you’re marrying. What’s his name?” He asked.

“ _Lance_ ” Donna visibly softened and got a dazed look in her eyes. 

“Good luck Lance.” The Doctor uttered.

“Oi! No stupid Martian is gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with you!” The Doctor’s comment brought Donna back to reality so fast it gave her mental whiplash. She glared at the Doctor before picking up her wedding dress and storming off towards the street. 

“I’m… I’m not, I’m not from Mars. ”The Doctor felt something akin to guilt before going after her.

They ended up at a busy main street, where taxis are driving past. Donna raised her arm and shouted “Taxi!”. However the Taxi didn’t stop. This went on for a couple of minutes, each of them attempting to grab a taxi but no taxi driver stopped for them. Whenever a Taxi drove past, the drivers would yell at Donna before going off down the road. 

The Doctor put a hand out to stop her before putting two fingers in his mouth and letting out a shrill whistle. Immediately, a taxi driver pulled to the curb and the duo got in. 

And then were immediately kicked out when they found out none of them had any money for the taxi ride. When they were kicked out, the Doctor looked around, only now realizing what time of year it is.

“Is it Christmas?” He asked Donna, who rolled her eyes at him as if he was stupid.

“Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve” Donna responded. She swats his arm, ignoring him rubbing his arm and gesturing at something in the distance.”Phone box!” She shouted excitedly before running towards it, the Doctor just lagging slightly behind.

“We can reverse the charges!” Donna told him happily, however the Doctor was still focused on the time of year Donna was getting married on.

“How come you’re getting married on Christmas Eve?” The Doctor asked, finally curious about something other than how Donna got into the Tardis.

“Can't bear it, I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco, sunshine, lovely.” Donna absentmindedly told him.

They reached the phone box and the Doctor obediently held the door open for Donna, who threw a grateful smile at him. That was probably the nicest thing a bloke has done for her in a long time, even Lance doesn't do anything chivalrously unlike the Doctor.

“What's the operator? I've not done this in years. What do you dial, 100?” Donna asked him but the Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the phone.

“Just call direct.”

“What did you do?”

“Something… Martian. Now phone! I’ll get money.” With that, the Doctor ran off towards the ATM, leaving a slightly baffled Donna behind. The Doctor bounced from one foot to the other, waiting for the guy in the front of him to finish. 

“Mum, get off the phone and listen! I'm in... Oh, my God, I don't know where I am. It's a street... and there's a WH Smith.But it's definitely Earth!” Donna left a message on Sylvia's voicemail.

The Doctor was still waiting for the guy in front of him to finish using the ATM. When the guy did finally stop using it, the Doctor approached the ATM, casting a suspicious glance at the people around him, making sure no one saw him sonic the ATM.

Donna left the phone booth and approached a nice-looking woman on the street.”Excuse me. I'm begging you, I'm getting married, and I'm late, and I just need to borrow a tenner, and I'll pay you back, I promise.” Donna hurriedly explained the situation to the woman, who gave her a sympathetic glance and handed her a tenner.

When the Doctor was finished with the ATM, he noticed the robotic santas around him and immediately he was suspicious. 

“Taxi!” Donna shouted, getting into the first taxi that stopped for her.”St. Mary’s Church, Chiswick. Thanks for nothing, Spaceman! I'll see you in court!” She shouted the last part to the shocked Doctor. 

The Doctor was horrified to discover that the driver was a Robot Santa and he shouted “Donna!”. They were gone before he could catch up with them. He glanced back at the Robot Santas near him, they were holding the trumpets like they were guns. He had to think of a distraction! He glanced back at the ATM and sonic-ed it, making money fly out of the cash machine. The Doctor sprinted towards the Tardis and ran in.

She didn’t notice the Doctor shouting, however, she was too busy taking her veil off and promising to give the driver the rest of the taxi fare when they got to the church. She looked out of the window and say the sign for Chiswick fade behind her.”Hold on a minute, I said Chiswick! You've missed the turning. Excuse me? We should've turned off, back there. We're going the wrong way! What the hell are you doing? I'm late for the wedding. My own wedding, do you get that?” Donna ranted to the driver, shouting at the end of the rant. She was being kidnapped again! This is turning out to be the worst day of her life!

The Doctor was rushing to the console, targeting Donna’s location and heading onto the motorway. The Tardis weaved through the traffic on the motorway.

“Turn around! Turn this cab around right now!” She shouted at the driver. When he didn’t respond she leant forward and pulled off the Santa hat, revealing a robotic head. Donna sat back, shocked. All she could do is utter three words “Oh. My. God.”. She turned to the windows and started to frantically bang on the windows, trying to gain the attention of the other drivers. The man in the red van looked at her concerned but ultimately he couldn’t do anything as they were on the motorway.

The Doctor was trying to steady the Tardis, which had sparks flying.”Behave” The Doctor sternly told the Tardis.

The Tardis dropped into Donna’s eyeline and she stared at in shock.”You are kidding me.” She rhetorically said to herself.

The Doctor attached a long piece of string to the console, letting him operate the controls from the door. He opened the door, the piece of string cutting into his lip. He caught the gaze of a shocked Donna.

“Open the door!” He shouted at her. 

“Do what?” She asked, confused.

“Open the door!” He repeated.  
“I can’t! It’s locked!” Donna pointed out. The Doctor grabbed his sonic from its usual pocket and pointed it at the door. Donna tried to wind the window down, luckily it worked.

“Santa’s a robot.” She said in disbelief.

“Donna, open the door!” The Doctor shouted.

“What for?” She asked.

“You’ve got to jump!” The Doctor told her. Had the Doctor been paying attention to the robot, he would’ve noticed that it now began to listen to their conversation.

“I’m not blinking flip jumping! I'm supposed to be getting married!” She yelled at him in a shrill tone.

The robot accelerated the taxi, making it overtake the Tardis. The Doctor pulled on his string, making the Tardis fall back in line with the taxi. 

The Doctor struggled to right himself but when he did, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the robot, making it useless. “Listen to me, you’ve got to jump!” He told Donna, desperation bleeding into his tone.

“I’m not jumping on a motorway.” Donna firmly told the Doctor, although part of her was actually debating jumping out of the taxi.

“Whatever that thing is, it needs you. And whatever it needs you for, it's not good! Now come on!” The Doctor shouted the last sentence at Donna.

“I’m in my wedding dress!” Donna yelled back.

“Yes, you look lovely! Now come on!” The Doctor exasperatedly shouted at her. 

Donna was now breathing heavily in fear. She opened the door and got in a position ready for her to jump into the Tardis. All she could see was the fast moving road and the Tardis with the Doctor with his arms outstretched, ready to catch her. Over the wind whipping her hair in her face, she shouted “I can’t do it!”.

The Doctor caught her gaze and told her calmly “ _trust me_ ”.

“Is that what you said to her? Your friend. The one you lost. Did she trust you?” Donna asked him.

“Yes, she did. And she is not dead. She is so alive. Now jump!” The Doctor reassured Donna.  
Donna felt that she could trust what he said so she took a leap of faith. With a scream, she landed on top of the Doctor, his hands on her waist. They both looked at the doors as they slammed close and they felt the Tardis fly away.

The Tardis landed on a rooftop somewhere and the duo left the Tardis, coughing slightly as the Tardis started smoking. Donna looked at her watch and sighed, it was after half past three, she had missed her own wedding. She stood staring out into the distance.

“Funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. You all right?” The Doctor explained, then asked the last question, noticing Donna looking sad.

“Doesn’t matter”

“Did we miss it?” He asked softly.

“Yeah.”

“Well, you can book another date.” The Doctor tried to reassure her.

“Course we can.”

“You've still got the honeymoon.”

“It's just a holiday, now.” Donna pointed out

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” The Doctor told her. 

“It’s not your fault.” Donna decided.

“Oh! That’s a change!” The Doctor smiled at her, breaking the sad tension between them.

“Wish you had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right” Donna muttered.

The Doctor internally winced.“Um, yeah, yeah. But...even if I did, I couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently.” The Doctor tried to get himself out of the self-dug hole but according to Donna’s suspicious glance at him, it didn’t work. However, she had more important things to worry about and she sat on the edge of the rooftop, shivering slightly.

The Doctor took his trench coat off and placed it gently on her shoulders. He joined her on the edge.

“God! You’re skinny, this wouldn’t fit a rat.” Donna joked and the Doctor gently smiled at her. She smiled back, feeling a fluttering of something in her stomach.

“Oh, and you'd better put this on.” The Doctor pulled out a ring that looks suspiciously like a wedding ring and Donna tutted.

“Do you have to rub it in?” She moaned softly.

“Those creatures can trace you. This is a biodamper, should keep you hidden.” The Doctor explained and he nodded at her hand, which she held out. As he was putting the ring on, he said “With this ring...I thee biodamp” and smirked at her.

She smiled back and replied with “for better or for worse.” They stared at each other for a couple of seconds, smiling slightly. Donna broke the moment by asking ”So come on, then - robot Santas, what are they for?”.

The Doctor tilted his head to the side before explaining “Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. I met them last Christmas.”

“Why? What happened then?” She asked.

The Doctor was slightly stumped.“... Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?” He asked.

“I had a bit of a hangover.” Donna said dismissively.

The Doctor looked out into the landscape and nodded towards the Powell Estate.“I spent Christmas Day over there, the Powell Estate, with this..family. My friend, she had this family. Well, they… Still. Gone now.” The Doctor trailed off, painfully bittersweet memories coming at full force towards the front of his mind.

“Your friend. Who was she?” Donna asked, trying to get him out of his funk. 

The Doctor ignored the questions and looked back at Donna, his curiosity coming at her in full blast.”The question is, what do camouflage robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the Tardis? I dunno...” He asked, almost rhetorically.”What’s your job?” He put his curious gaze on her, leading her to roll her eyes at him. He reached into his chest pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

“I’m a secretary.” She said simply.

“Weird. I mean, you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not clever, you're not important..” The Doctor trailed off as he scanned her with the sonic screwdriver.  
“This friend of yours, just before she left, did she punch you in the face? Stop bleeping me!” Donna finally snapped and slapped his hand away from her. They both turned away from each other, almost in sync, and took deep breaths.

The Doctor turned back to her.”What kind of secretary?” He asked.

“I’m at HC Clements. That’s where I met Lance, I was temping. I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought, I'm never gonna fit in here. And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance, he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny. And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him, one cup of coffee. That was it.” Donna trailed off, stuck in the memory. 

The Doctor felt something akin to jealousy and he shoved it as far down as he could. Instead, he asked ”when was this?”

“Six months ago.” She told him.

“Bit quick to get married.” The Doctor stated.

“Well, he insisted.” The look on Donna’s face was of embarrassment so the Doctor was safe to reckon it was the other way around.

“What does HC Clements do?” He asked, taking her mind off of Lance.

“Oh, security systems. Y'know, entry codes, ID cards, that sort of thing. Ask me, it's a posh name for a locksmith's.” Donna told the Doctor, who smiled at her remark.

“Keys..” The Doctor trailed off, thinking about the significance of HC Clements.

“Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian Boy.” Donna groaned slightly, put off by the idea of going back, she was quite enjoying the quiet time and the Doctor wasn’t too bad to hang around with. He did save her from a robotic santa.

“Yeah, I’m not from Mars.” The Doctor told her as he got up. He held a hand out towards her and she took it, allowing him to help pull her up. He steadied her before they walked back into the Tardis.

“Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken.” Donna told the Doctor before they felt the Tardis move.

When they reached the reception, instead of looking for Donna, everyone was partying. Donna was shocked and embarrassed. She had walked in to find Nerys all over Lance, the DJ playing and everyone, even her Mum!, dancing without a care in the world. 

The Doctor trailed after her, hands in his pockets. He was shocked and angry at how Donna’s family and friends reacted to her missing her own wedding! Before he could speak, Donna spoke, making the entire room freeze, Lance was the last to notice, too tied up in the blonde woman next to him.

“You had the reception without me?” Donna asked shocked, arms falling from their crossed position.

“Donna, what happened to you?” Lance asked, ‘too late for fake sympathy’ the Doctor thought to himself bitterly.

“You had the reception without me?” Donna repeated herself, still in major shock.

“Hello, I’m the Doctor” The Doctor interjected, letting Donna wrap her mind around the situation.

“They had the reception without me.” Donna told the Doctor, turning to him, making him capture the slight tremble in her lip. God, the Doctor’s hearts twinged in sympathy. All he wanted to do was get Donna away from the people she called friends and family.

“Yes, I gathered.” The Doctor responded and Donna turned towards the crowd.

“Wwell, it was all paid for, why not?” The blonde that was dancing on Lance earlier, the Doctor could already tell he wouldn’t like her, said.

“Yes, thank you Nerys.” Donna said bitterly, crossing her arms again.

“Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end: "I'm on Earth"? Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know...” A middle-aged woman approached Donna, probably her mum the Doctor gathered.

As soon as Donna’s mother approached, the rest of the guests started to hound Donna. Everyone was speaking over each other, making it hard for Donna to hear anyone. Donna looked towards the Doctor but he was at a loss of what to do. 

So Donna burst into tears.

Immediately the group softened and Lance brought her into a hug. The Doctor looked shocked but when Donna caught his eye, she winked and he smirked. He was proud of Donna, thinking on the spot like that.

The Doctor walked over to the bar and the party was back in full swing. The Doctor smiled as he watched Donna dance. She was laughing and smiling with that fiance of hers. She deserved to be happy, even if she didn’t get to marry the guy today. Still, the Doctor thought to himself, she could do better than Lance. He saw a man using his phone and gestured if he could borrow it to make a call. 

Instead of calling anyone, he used the phone to search up HC Clements, boosting the speed of the results using his sonic screwdriver, which also made the search results come up with anything that is hidden from the public. The search result stopped and it showed ‘Sole Prop. Torchwood’. The Doctor frowned and slowly closed the phone, handing it back to the nice stranger with a muttered thanks.The Doctor saw a familiar flash of bleached blonde hair and his breath caught. The man the blonde was dancing with, dippd the woman and the Doctor was brought back to when Cassandra stopped possessing Rose. He quickly blinked hard and looked away from the couple. He saw a guy with a camera videotaping the reception. The Doctor walks up to the Cameraman and asks to see the tape from the wedding.

“I taped the whole thing, they've all had a look. They said: "sell it to You've Been Framed". I said: "more like the News". Here we are…” The cameraman trailed off and the two watched as Donna disappeared in gold particles.

“Can’t be! Play it again?” The Doctor felt dread build up, he hoped it wasn’t what it thought it was.

“Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping.” The cameraman remarked.

The Doctor took off his glasses and said in disbelief “But that looks like… Huon particles”.

“What's that then?” 

“That's impossible. That's...ancient. Huon energy doesn't exist any more, not for billions of years. It's so old that...” The Doctor trailed off as he found Donna in the crowd, his eyes drawn to the biodamper.”It can't be hidden by a biodamper!” He shouted and sprinted upstairs to the balcony. There were at least 2 robot santas surrounding the building. The Doctor sprinted back to Donna, jumping over a table.

“Donna! Donna, they’ve found you.” The Doctor stopped by Donna and immediately her eyes grew wide with fear.

“But you said I was safe.” Donna protested.  
“The biodamper doesn’t work. We’ve got to get everyone out.” The Doctor told Donna urgently. 

Donna looked around at everyone’s happy faces and felt dread about what might happen to them.”Oh my God. It’s all my family...” Donna trailed off before the Doctor cut in, pointing to a door.

“Out the back door!” He shouted and they both rushed towards it, stopping when they saw the robot santas blocking the exit.

“Maybe not.” They ran inside, heading towards another window, where they saw two more santas.

“We’re trapped.” Donna said despairingly. The Doctor noticed the santas holding a remote control. When the santas raised them, the Doctor looked behind him, at the Christmas trees. 

“Christmas trees.” The Doctor muttered. This caused Donna to turn and look at him.

“What about them?” She asked.

“They kill.” With that simple but powerful observation, the Doctor ran into the crowd, Donna following behind him.

“Get away from the trees!”

“Don’t touch the trees!” They shouted at the crowd, trying to make everyone leave. Donna moved a group of little girls away from the trees.

“Oh, for God's sake, the man's an idiot.What harm is a Christmas tree gonna...? Oh” Sylvia trailed off when the Christmas tree baubles moved in some kind of dance.Everyone was ooh-ing and aww-ing until the baubles flew and caused small explosions. 

After that, it was chaos.

Everyone was running and screaming, trying to find cover. Donna pulled Lance under a table with her, waiting for it to be over. The Doctor ran towards the DJ stand, where opposite, stood the robot santas.

“Oi! Santa! Word of advice.If you're attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver…don't let him near the sound system.” With the ominous threat spoke, the Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the amplifiers, causing a high-pitched screeching sound and making the robot santas crumble to pieces. 

The Doctor switched off the sonic screwdriver and picked up a helmet, examining it carefully. Donna was helping everyone up off the floor and making sure everyone was ok. Donna was asking the Doctor to help but he got distracted, chasing after a signal. Donna was going after him when Sylvia tugged her back.

“Donna, who is he?Who is that man?” Sylvia asked her. Donna couldn’t think of an answer that doesn’t have ‘he’s an alien’ in it. So she ignored the question and ran after the Doctor, leaving her mother and fiance behind.

She found the Doctor following the signal, pointing his screwdriver upwards. Someone in the sky wanted Donna for some reason. The Doctor wound up losing the signal and he turned to Donna, and Lance who came out to follow Donna.

”I've lost the signal! We've got to get to your office. I think that's where it all started. Lance! Is it Lance? Lance, can you give me a lift?” The Doctor asked, but without waiting for an answer, he ran off, leaving Lance and Donna to follow him.

Lance opened the car door and Donna got in the back, leaving the Doctor in the front next to Lance. Donna doesn’t know why but she feels an underlying tension between Lance and the Doctor, but it mostly came from the Doctor. She frowned as Lance slowly made his way to HC Clements.

When they reached HC Clements, the Doctor ran out, sprinting towards the building. Donna groaned in pain as her heels made it hell for her to run a lot. The Doctor led them to a computer and he started talking.

“To you lot this might just be a locksmith, but HC Clements was bought up 23 years ago by the Torchwood Institute.”

“Who are they?” Donna asked.

“They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf.” When there was silence as an answer, the Doctor turned to face Donna, who was looking at him with a blank face.”...Cyberman Invasion,” she still had a blank look on her face.”Skies over London full of Daleks?”. That got a reaction.

“Oh, I was in Spain.” Donna told him.

“They had Cybermen in Spain.”

“Scuba-diving” Donna said as if it explains how she missed it.

“That big picture, Donna. You keep missing it.” The Doctor ignored Lance’s subtle eye roll in the background and carried on explaining.''Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think someone else came in and took over the operation.” 

“But what do they want with me?” Donna asked and the Doctor sighed before giving her his full attention.

“Somehow, you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem, because Huon energy hasn't existed since the dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS. Y'see, that's what happened. Say that's the TARDIS, and that's you. The particles inside you activated, the particles magnetised and whap! You were pulled inside the TARDIS.” He had picked up a pencil and mug to demonstrate what happened and Donna stared at him incredulously.

“I’m a pencil inside a mug?” She asked weakly.

“Yes, you are. 4H, sums you up.” The Doctor turned to Lance.”Lance? What was H C Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?” The Doctor asked him.

Lance was defensive, causing the Doctor to become suspicious.”I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't the project manager. Why am I even explaining myself? What the hell are we talking about?” He asked the Doctor, who was too busy reading something on the computer.

“You make keys, that's the point - and look at this! We're on the third floor.” The Doctor showed Lance and Donna a 3D office map of the entire building and then walked off, leaving Donna to roll her eyes and follow him.

The Doctor lead them to the elevator and stood there staring at the panel.“Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes? Then how come on the lift there's a button marked lower basement?There's a whole floor which doesn't exist on the official plans. So what’s down there then?” The Doctor told them. 

“Are you telling me this building has a secret floor?” Lance asked and the Doctor mentally winced.

“No, I’m showing you this building has a secret floor.” The Doctor told him simply.

“It needs a key.” Donna pointed out.

“I don’t.” The Doctor smirked internally at Donna’s slightly awed face. The Doctor sonic-ed the lock and the elevator dinged.

“Right, thanks, you two, I can handle this. See you later.” The Doctor waved them off and was all ready to go down until Donna stepped in.

“No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight.” Donna told him before turning to face Lance, who looked just about ready to bolt.

“Going down.” The Doctor told her.

“”Lance.” She said his name pointedly.

Lance responded with “Maybe I should go to the police.”

“Inside.” Donna firmly told him, and the man meekly did as he was told.

The Doctor couldn’t help but say “to honour and to obey?”.

Lance scoffed and replied “tell me about it, mate.”

“Oi!” Donna said and the lift descended into silence as it went down.

When they reached the designated floor, they stepped out into a long corridor lit up by green light.”Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?” Donna asked the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to her and said “let’s find out”. 

“Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?” Donna asked him.

“The mysterious HC Clements. Oh, I think he's part of it.” Something caught the Doctor’s eyes and he lit up with a huge grin.”Oh, look. Transport!”.

The transport was three segways. Donna thought the three of them looked hilarious on them. She glanced at the Doctor and Lance and burst out laughing. The Doctor looked at her and began to laugh at himself.’This is the first time I’ve seen him laugh all day’ Donna thought to herself. The only person who didn’t laugh was Lance.’Oh well,’ Donna thought ‘he never gets any of my jokes’.

They stopped at a door with a label saying ‘Authorised Personnel Only’. They abandoned their segways and the Doctor opened the door to reveal a ladder. As he began to climb it, he turned to Donna.”Wait here, I just need to get my bearings. Don't do anything.” He gestured to Donna.

“You'd better come back.” She told him, with a bit of glare.

The Doctor smiled brightly at her.”I couldn’t get rid of you if I tried.” He told her before climbing the ladder.

Donna watched him go up with an awed expression on her face. Donna wasn’t really listening to Lance when he started speaking to her but she responded with “Oh I thought July.” and then resumed watching the Doctor.

“Thames Flood Barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.” The Doctor told the couple when he came back down.

“What, there's, like, a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?” Donna asked in disbelief.

“I know. Unheard of” The Doctor smiled at Donna, who smiled back. They walked into a laboratory and the Doctor jogged to the tubes.

“Oh! Look at this! Stunning!” The Doctor started observing the tubes.

“What does it do?” Donna asked

“Particle extrusion. Hold on...” The Doctor walked over to one of the tubes and tapped it with his knuckle.”Brilliant! They've been manufacturing Huon particles. My people got rid of Huons, they unravelled the atomic structure” The Doctor explained.

“Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?” Lance threw questions at the Doctor and the latter answered them with ease,

“Oh, I’m a freelancer. But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river, so they've got the end result...Huon particles in liquid form.” The Doctor turned the lid on the tube which made the particles glow, as well as Donna.

“Oh my God!” Donna exclaimed as she started down at her body that was now glowing.

The Doctor began to explain the particles.“Because the particles are inert, they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then... Ha!” When he said Ha, Donna jumped out of skin and the Doctor suddenly began to rant.”The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle, oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, wham go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!” 

Throughout his rant, Donna was looking at him like he was crazy and she eventually got fed up with it. So she slapped him. Hard.  
The Doctor stumbled back a few steps and looked at Donna in shock.”What did I do this time?” He asked her.

“Are you enjoying this?” Donn asked, hurt about his excited reaction.

The Doctor noticed her expression and felt ashamed of himself, he was so caught up in excitement that he hadn’t noticed her increasing fear. She approached him and he could start to see how scared she was up close.

“Right, just tell me, these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?” She asked him, staring so earnestly in his eyes that he tried to lie.

“Yes!” He said unconvincingly.

“Doctor… If your lot got rid of Huon Particles, why did they do that? Donna asked him hesitantly, already fearing the answer.

The Doctor’s face grew sombre “because they were deadly.”

“”Oh my God…” Donna drew into herself.

The Doctor rushed to put his hands on her shoulders.“Whatever's been done to you, I'll reverse it. I am not about to lose someone else” the Doctor rushed to reassure her.

They were interrupted by a voice.”Oh, she is long since lost.” The Voice told them. A wall lifted and they saw a huge hole in the floor.

“have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe...” The Voice trailed off. The Doctor took a note of Lance running off, so much for ‘till death do us part’, the Doctor thought bitterly.“Until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken” the Voice continued to speak. 

“Someone’s been digging.. Oh very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?” The Doctor asked the Voice.

“Down and down, all the way to the centre of the Earth.” The Voice supplied.

“Really? Seriously? What for?” asked the Doctor.

From beside him, Donna piped up with “Dinosaurs”.

The Doctor looked at her in bewilderment.”What?” he asked.

“Dinosaurs?” He can see Donna lose the confidence in her answer

“What are you on about, Dinosaurs?” The Doctor asked.

“That film, Under the Earth, with dinosaurs. Trying to help!” Donna told him.

“That’s not helping.” The Doctor told her. He could swear he saw a flash of hurt in her eyes but it was gone before he could blink. She stepped back, letting him deal with the situation.

“Such a sweet couple” The voice interjected.

Suddenly the Doctor started to walk about.”Only a madman talks to thin air, and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?” The Doctor demanded to know.

“High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas night” The voice trailed off.

“I didn’t come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let’s have a look at you!” The Doctor shouted.

“Who are you, with such command?” The voice asked, hissing slightly.

“Prepare your best medicines, Doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart.” The voice.

The Doctor and Donna saw a beam come down from somewhere and they gasped when they saw what came out of it, Donna's gasp was horrified and the Doctor’s was a disbelieving one. The thing that came down was obviously not human. It was a cross between a human and an arachnid, Donna thought to herself. She could distinguish three pairs of black eyes and ten limbs on the red being. Donna was horrified! That was what kidnapped her? 

“Racnoss,” The Doctor stated.”You’re one of the Racnoss!” The Doctor ran a hand through his wild hair.

“Empress of the Racnoss.” The Empress clarified, however it just made the Doctor more confused. 

“If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or are you the only one?” The Doctor asked her.

“Such a sharp mind.” The Empress hissed at him.

“That’s it, the last of your kind,” He turned to talk to Donna, who was looking hopelessly confused.”The Racnoss come from the dark times, billions of years ago. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets.” He explained.  
“Racnoss are born starving - is that our fault?” The Empress cut in.

“They eat people?” Donna asked, horrified.

The Doctor looked up and saw a lot of webbing on the ceiling and he saw a pair of shoes sticking out.”HC Clements, did he wear those... those erm, black and white shoes?” The Doctor asked Donna, turning to her.

“He did. We used to laugh, we used to call him the Fat Cat in Spats!” Donna laughed gently. The Doctor winced and nodded upwards.

Donna followed his gaze.

”Oh my God!” Donna put a hand to her mouth, suddenly feeling nauseous. Up in the webbing, Donna could make out HC Clements’s pair of shoes.

“My Christmas dinner.” The Empress laughed, sending a shiver down Donna’s spine.

“You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss, they were wiped out.” The Doctor told her.

“Except for me.” The Empress stated the obvious. 

Out of the corner of their eyes, the Doctor and Donna saw Lance approach the back of the Empress. He gestured for them both to keep quiet.

Donna got the attention of the Empress.“But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How come I get all stacked up with these Huon particles,” Donna could see Lance start to hold the axe above his head.”Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me.” Donna demanded. The Doctor was impressed at Donna’s dedication.

“The bride is so feisty!” The Empress cackled.

“Yes, I am!” Donna agreed.“And I don't know what you are, you big...thing, but a spider's just a spider...and an axe is an axe, now do it!” She shouted the last part at Lance who looked like he was going to go through it.

At the last minute though, the Empress turned and hissed at Lance before they...laughed? The Doctor’s eyes widened in realization and he felt so much sympathy for Donna and so much anger at Lance. He glanced at Donna who looked so confused, the Doctor just hoped she wouldn’t bear the humiliation of having Lance’s betrayal explained to her.

“That was a good one. Your face!” Lance laughed.

“Lance is funny.” The Empress told the room.

“What?” Donna asked.

“I’m sorry.” The Doctor told her quietly.

She looked at the Doctor’s apologetic face before turning back to Lance.”Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid - get her!” She told him.

“God, she’s thick.” Lance may have been talking to the whole room, but his gaze was locked on Donna, who looked back at him confused.

“Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map!” Lance told the Empress, as if he was expecting sympathy from the whole room.

“I don’t understand.” Donna said helplessly, feeling tears prick at the corners of her eyes.

“How did you meet him?” The Doctor asked her, and she looked at him confused, she had already told him the story just a couple of hours ago, how could he not remember?

“In the office.” She stated.

“He made you coffee.“ The Doctor added, eyes full of pity.

“What?” She asked, still not getting it.

“Everyday, I made you coffee.” Lance stated simply, as if talking down to someone.

“You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months.” The Doctor told Donna and she suddenly had a sad realization about what was going on.

“He was poisoning me?” At the Doctor’s nod, Donna felt her heart shatter.

“It was all there in the job title.The head of human resources.” The Doctor turned back to Lance.

“This time, it’s personnel.” Lance happily told the Doctor, ignoring his fiance’s pain and suffering.

“But… we were getting married.” Donna said weakly, so lost and feeling so alone at that moment. The Doctor mentally winced, Donna deserves better than the card she was handed.

“Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavour Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap..."oh, Brad and Angelina... is Posh pregnant?" X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia.” Lance spat.

The Doctor ached to hug Donna, protect against the torrent of abuse Lance was telling her. She looked so sad, he could practically see her heart shatter.

“I deserve a medal!” Lance told the Doctor.

“Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?” The Doctor spat at Lance, who looked at him then back at Donna before delivering the final blow.

“It’s better than a night with her.” That was the final nail in the coffin that would shatter the rest of Donna’s heart.

“But I love you.” Donna told Lance weakly.

“That's what made it easy,” Lance told her nastily, he turned to the Doctor.”It's like you said, Doctor, the big picture, what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to... go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?” The Doctor felt sick about being compared to Lance

“Who is this little physician?” The Empress asked Lance.

“What she said,” Lance nodded at Donna.”Martian.”

The Doctor approached the whole, hands in his pocket.”Oh, I'm sort of... homeless. But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?” The Doctor glanced at the hole then back at them.

“I think he wants us to talk.” Lance looked at the Empress.

“I think so too.” The Empress she agreed.

“Well, tough. All we need is Donna.” Lance told the Doctor.

“Kill this chattering little Doctor-man” The Empress ordered the Robotic santas that now pointed their guns at the Doctor.

Donna felt a surge of protectiveness and placed herself in front of the Doctor, pushing him back with her arm.”Don’t you hurt him!” She shouted.

“No, no. It’s all right.” The Doctor tried to soothe her.

“No, I won’t let them!” She told the Doctor.

“At arms!” The Empress shouted.

“Ah, now. Except-” The Doctor was cut off before he could speak.

“Take aim!” The Empress shouted.

“Well, I just want to point out the obvious...” The Doctor got cut off again.

“They won't hit the bride, they're such very good shots.” The Empress told the Doctor.

“Just... just... just... hold on, just a tick, just a tiny... just a little... tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it... the spaceship comes to her.” The Doctor grabbed the tube of Huon particles and twisted the top, causing the particles to glow, as well as Donna. The Doctor could hear the familiar whirrings of the Tardis materialising around them.

“Fire!” The Empress shouted, however before any bullets could hit the Doctor, he and Donna disappeared.

The Doctor rushed to the console, leaving a shocked Donna sitting on the pilot seat.”Oh, you know what I said before about time machines? Well, I lied. And now we're gonna use it.” The Doctor told Donna as he launched them down Earth’s timeline.”We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna, we're going further back than I've ever been before.” He told her excitedly.

He turned to Donna when she didn’t respond and the sight he saw, broke his two hearts further. He saw Donna’s shoulders shaking and he could see the tears falling off of her face. She kept it as quiet as she could but he could hear the quiet hitches in her breath. He approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Without a word, she turned and buried her head into his shoulder. He stroked a comforting hand up and down her back as she took in the last couple of hours. He put his chin on her head and slightly rocked back and forth.

When she stopped crying and pulled away from the hug, she ran her finger underneath her eyes.”Oh God, I must look pathetic.” She let out a bitter laugh. The Doctor handed her a tissue.

“Nah, I’ve seen pathetic and it looks more like Lance than you.” The Doctor told her genuinely and she smiled gently at him.”You ready to see the beginning of the Earth?” He gestured towards the Tardis doors. He held out his hand and she took it, allowing him to lead her to the doors.

He opened the doors and the sight before Donna, took her breath away. All around her were pretty colours blending in with each other and the Earth was just pieces of rock all around them.

“We've gone back 4.6 billion years. There's no solar system, not yet. Only dust and rocks and gas. “ He pointed over to where the Sun was. ”That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn.” They stared in amazement at the creation of the Earth.

“And the Earth?” She asked.

“All around us.” The Doctor smiled at her. 

“Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right, we’re just tiny.” Her voice grew small when she said Lance and the Doctor looked over at her, ready to take her into his arms again if she wanted him to. He settled for wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

“No, but that's what you do. The human race. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed.” The Doctor told her reassuringly.

“So I came out of all of this?” Donna asked him, wrapping an arm around his waist and leaning her head on him.

“Yep, isn’t that brilliant?” He told her.

Just then, a piece of rock flew past the Tardis.”I think that’s the Isle of Wight.” Donna remarked and they let out a chuckle.

“Eventually, gravity takes hold. One big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything piling in, until you get..” The Doctor trailed off.

“Earth.” Donna finished for him.

“But the question is… what was the first rock?” The Doctor asked rhetorically. Just then a star-shaped ship came from the distance. 

“Look.” Donna pointed at the ship.

“The Racnoss.” The Doctor whispered. The Doctor pulled away from Donna and ran back to the console.

“Hold on, the Racnoss are hiding from the war. What's it doing?” He asked Donna, who had stayed by the door.

“Exactly what you said!” Donna shouted back.

“Oh, they didn’t just bury something at the centre of the Earth. They became the centre of the Earth. The first rock.” The Doctor told Donna.

The Tardis lurched suddenly, nearly sending Donna and the Doctor crashing onto the floor.

“What was that?” Donna asked, glancing at the Doctor, who glanced back.

“Trouble.” As he said that, the Tardis shuddered and tipped, making it hard for the Doctor and Donna to keep their balance.

“What the hell’s it doing?” Donna shouted at the Doctor.

“That little trick of mine, particles pulling particles, it works in reverse. They're pulling us back!” The Doctor shouted back.

“Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse, or, warp, or beam, or something?” Donna asked as the Doctor gave up trying to take back control.

“Back-seat driver! Oh! Wait a minute!” The Doctor pulled out a contraption from underneath the console.”The extrapolator! Can’t stop us, but should give us a good bump!” The Doctor told Donna.

The Tardis stopped moving suddenly, causing Donna to stumble and the Doctor reached to steady her. When she regained her balance, he approached the doors and cautiously poked his head around the door. They had ended up in the same ominous corridor as earlier. The Doctor left the Tardis, Donna following him shortly after.

“We’re about 200 yards to the right. Come on!” He grabbed her hand and they began to run.

They stopped at the door leading to the Thames flood barrier.”But what do we do?” Donna asked him, scared and out of breath.

“I don't know! I'm making it up as I go along. But trust me, I've got a history.” The Doctor rushed to reassure her.

“But I still don’t understand. I’m full of particles, but what for?” Donna asked him.

“There's a Racnoss web at the centre of the Earth, but my people unravelled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck.” If the Doctor had been paying attention to Donna, he would’ve seen the robot santa dragging Donna away.”They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and you have never been so quiet. Oh!” The Doctor finally turned around where Donna was before and he couldn’t see her. He looked up and down the corridor but before he could go anywhere, he was confronted with a santa robot. He quickly disabled the robot with his screwdriver and stepped over the robot. He grabbed the helmet and the disguise before walking away.

Meanwhile, Donna was pulled up to the ceiling and was put next to Lance. Great, she thought grumpily.”I hate you.” She told Lance.

“Yeah, I think we've gone a bit beyond that now, sweetheart.” Lance told her bitterly.

“My golden couple. Together at last, your awful wedded life. Tell me, do you want to be released?” The Empress asked them.

Donna and Lance looked at each other in disbelief before turning back to the Empress.”Yes!” They said at the same time.

“You’re supposed to say ‘I do!’” The Empress said in disappointment.

Donna and Lance looked at each other in disgust.

“Ha! No chance!” Lance told the Empress.

“Say it!” She demanded.

Lance sighed and looked at Donna before saying “I do!”.

Donna rolled her eyes and responded back with “I do!”.

“I don’t!” The Empress laughed like it was the best joke she has ever heard. “Activate the particles. Purge every last one!”

Almost immediately, Donna and Lance began to glow. 

“And release!” The Empress shouted happily. Donna watched as the particles disappeared down the hole.

“The secret heart unlocks. And they will waken from their sleep of Ages.” The Racnoss said happily.

“Who will? What's down there?” Donna asked, scared.

“How thick are you?” Lance said rhetorically and Donna glared at him.

“My children, the long lost Racnoss. Now will be born to feast on flesh!” The Empress told Donna who could hear the chirping of the spiders and the pattering of their feet can now be heard coming up the hole. 

“The web-star shall come to me.” The Empress looked up at the sky.

Donna immediately wished for the Doctor to hurry up and rescue her before the children emerged.

“My babies will be hungry. They need sustenance. Perish the web.” The Empress told the robot santas.

“Use her! Not me! Use her!” Lance shouted and Donna glared at him, how the hell was this the man she was going to marry?

“Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve.” The Empress told him in disappointment. The web around Lance loosened and he was sent falling into the hole. 

“No!” Donna cried as she watched her fiance fall to his death.

Donna noticed out of the corner of her eye, a robot santa running up the stairs. Unluckily for the robot santa, the Empress also noticed.

“My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them!” She hissed and turned to the robot.”So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man” She told the Doctor, who removed his mask.

Donna smiled happily. The Doctor has come to rescue her!

“Oh well. Nice try. I've got you, Donna!” The Doctor shouted up at her. He soniced the web which loosened around her.

“I’m going to fall!” She shouted at him.

“You’re going to swing!” The Doctor corrected her. The web loosened and Donna grabbed it, causing her to swing. “I got ya!” The Doctor shouted with his arms outstretched.

Donna screamed as she realised the web was too long. She collided with the wall with a loud thud and fell to the floor. She looked up at the Doctor, who looked down at her.”Oh… Sorry.” He winced at her.

“Thanks for nothing.” She told him as she got up.

“The doctor-man amuses me.” The Empress said.

“Empress of the Racnoss, I give you one last chance. I can find you a planet, I can find you and your children a place in the universe to co-exist. Take that offer, and end this now.” The Doctor looked back at the Empress and his tone became serious.

“These men are so funny!” The Empress laughed.

“What’s your answer?”

“I’m afraid I will have to decline.” The Empress told the Doctor.

“Then what happens next is your own doing.” The Doctor ominously told her.

“I’ll show you what happens next. At Arms!” The Empress shouted at the robot santas.”Take aim! And...” The robots did as they were ordered to.

“Relax.” The Doctor said quietly. When the robots did as they were ordered to by the Doctor, Donna looked up at him in confusion.

“What did you do?” Donna asked him.

“Guess what I got Donna?” He looked down at Donna and pulled out a remote control.”Pockets.” He told her.

“How did that fit in there?” She asked.

“They’re bigger on the inside.” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes fondly.

“Roboforms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh.” The Empress told the Doctor.

“Oh, but I’m not from Mars.” The Doctor smirked.

“Then where?” The Empress.

“My home planet is far away and long since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey.” The Doctor’s eyes grew cold.

The Empress suddenly let out an angry hiss “They murdered the Racnoss!”

“I warned you. You did this.” The Doctor produced several baubles from his pocket and threw them into the air, making them surround the Empress, who tried to flick them away. The Doctor moved them away and they heard distinct thuds as the baubles collided with the walls to the barrier.

“My children!” The Empress shouted, grief-stricken.

The Doctor stood there, consumed by the dark thoughts of the Time War, letting the water flood the hole and fire sparked into flames, suffocating the Empress.

Donna was horrified at what was happening around her, she could hear the children screaming below her and the Empress’s grief was real, penetrating Donna’s heart and making her feel bad for what was happening to her.

Donna looked up at the Doctor and she couldn’t recognise this person. Gone was the protective, funny and bright Martian she’s come to know, and now there was a cold, ruthless, empathy shell of the Doctor.

“Doctor! You can stop now!” Donna shouted up at him. His eyes snapped to hers and he visibly struggled with leaving, his eyes full of secret pain but then he remembered Donna and he snapped out of it.

“Come on! Time I got you out!” The Doctor rushed to the stairs and cleared out a pathway just big enough for Donna to get through. He grabbed her hand and they ran towards the ladder they found earlier, Donna lagging behind due to her wedding dress heavy with water. The Doctor ignored Donna’s protests of getting into the Tardis and continued to pull her down the corridor.

When they reached the ladder, the Doctor pushed Donna up first, following her shortly after. Donna steadied herself before the Doctor stood next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. They cheered when the Racnoss ship fell out of the sky.

Donna looked around at the Thames and realised something. She patted the Doctor’s arm.”There’s one problem.” She said breathlessly.

The Doctor looked at her in alarm ”What’s that?” he asked, quickly checking her over.  
“We’ve drained the Thames.” She looked around and they both could hear several ships honking their horns. The Doctor and Donna looked at each other and collapsed into laughter, the Doctor just about the only thing holding Donna up.

When they both had calmed down, the Doctor went down the ladder, checking the state of the underground base. He shouted up at Donna “it’s clear!”. He heard Donna clamber down the ladder and they waded through the water towards the Tardis. They got into the Tardis and the Doctor, to the request of Donna, materialised the Tardis at Donna’s house.

The Doctor patted the Tardis before turning to face Donna.”There we go. Told you she'd be alright. She can survive anything.”

Donna smiled at him sadly and said “more than I've done.”

The Doctor grabbed his sonic screwdriver and did a full body scan on her.”Nope! All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine.” He smiled at her fondly.

“Yeah, but apart from that... I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of.” Donna told him, almost distantly 

The Doctor went sombre.”I couldn't save him.”

Without feeling, Donna told the Doctor “He deserved it.”.

She didn’t fool the Doctor who only raised an eyebrow at her and stared at her. Donna’s face softened.

“No, he didn't.” Donna glanced at the house and saw her mum and dad worrying in the living room.”I'd better get inside. They'll be worried.”

The Doctor smiled fondly.”Best Christmas present they could have” he told Donna and they watched Sylvia and Geoff hug each other through the window.”Oh no, I forgot, you hate Christmas.” He teased.

Donna fondly rolled her eyes and agreed “Yes, I do.”

The Doctor went to the Tardis and reached up behind the doors.”Even if it snows?” He asked as he flicked a hidden switch. Suddenly a ball of light came out of the Tardis and erupted in the sky, creating snow.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Donna laughed with delight as she watched the snow fall.

The Doctor leaned against the Tardis in fake nonchalance.”Oh just, basic atmospheric excitation.” He smugly told her before smiling happily at her and she smiled back.

“Merry Christmas.” She told him, gently smiling.

“And you. So... what will you do with yourself now?” The Doctor nodded.

“Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno... travel... see a bit more of planet Earth... walk in the dust. Just... go out there and do something.” Donna was at a loss of what to do for her future.

“Well, you could always…” The Doctor trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“What?” She prompted.

The Doctor hesitated before saying “come with me?” 

Donna felt guilt bubble in her chest as she declined. She saw how much it upset the Doctor as he looked down then back up at her.

“Okay.” The Doctor rushed out.

“I can't” She gently shook her head.

“No, that’s fine.” ”The Doctor spoke with a false calm tone 

“No, but really... everything we did today... do you live your life like that?” Donna was overwhelmed with the adventure of today, she doesn’t think she could cope with that every day.

“Not all the time.” The Doctor lied. 

“I think you do. And I couldn't.” Donna’s voice shook with unshed tears.

“But you've seen it out there. It's beautiful.” He tried to convince her. 

“And it's terrible. That place was flooding and burning and they were dying and you were stood there like... I don't know... a stranger. And then you made it snow. I mean, you scare me to death!” Donna exclaimed, however the guilt inside her grew as she saw the impacts of her word on him.

It was a tense silence but the Doctor broke it.”Well then...“ He trailed off, looking down at the floor.

“Tell you what I will do though, Christmas dinner. Oh, come on.” Donna smiled and offered him to come inside. 

Immediately, the Doctor cringed.”I don't do that sort of thing.” He told her.

“You did it last year, you said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty.” Donna pointed out to him.

After a couple of the seconds, the Doctor seemed to agree with her.”Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And... don't say I'm a Martian.” He gestured to the Tardis.”I just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. I'll see you in a minute.” With that, he disappeared into the Tardis.

When it began to dematerialise, that was when Donna realised that the Doctor wasn’t intending to come back.”Doctor! Doctor!” She shouted. The dematerialising stopped and the Doctor popped his head around the door

“Blimey, you can shout.” He winced.

“Am I ever gonna see you again?” Donna asked hopefully.

“ If I'm lucky.” The Doctor let out a sad smile, and Donna released again that he was probably going to leave and she’ll never see him again, leaving her to wonder what her life would’ve been if she said yes.

“Just... promise me one thing, find someone.” Donna told him.

The Doctor immediately objected saying, “I don't need anyone”. 

“Yes, you do. Because sometimes, I think you need someone to stop you.” Donna told him honestly, gazing at him with those all-too knowing eyes of hers.

“Yeah,” The Doctor agreed quietly.”Thanks then, Donna, good luck, and just... be magnificent.” He told her, gazing back at her sadly.

“ I think I will, yeah.” Donna agreed and laughed. The Doctor smiled sadly at her then retreated back into the Tardis. He was stopped from dematerialising when he heard Donna call his name.

He opened the door with a mock exasperated look set on his face.”Oh, what is it now?” He asked.

Donna hesitated before asking,”that friend of yours... what was her name?”  
The Doctor gulped around a lump in his throat.”Her name was Rose.” He said with a sad smile. As he and the Tardis disappeared, Donna watched it disappear into the sky. As she was walking to her door, she gently ran her fingers over the bracelet covering her Soulmate Mark, unknowingly mirroring the Doctor who was doing the same thing. 

They thought they had both done the right thing, leaving without the other. So why did they both feel so empty and alone?


	3. A new beginning for a Noble Lady and a Lord of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ngl the best part of rewriting series 4 is finding first drat of the scripts and finding out moments they cut out. There's also the pleasure of finding new details after each re-watch

It’s been two years since Donna has met the Doctor and her life… it hasn’t really changed. She woke up on Boxing Day and everything was normal, except for the absence of Lance, which Donna couldn’t be disappointed about, not after he revealed her true colours, oh and tried to feed her to giant spiders. The day after, Donna had a visit from the police about finding Lance’s body at the bottom of the Thames. She had to cry for that, and in a blur of a month, they had a funeral for him and Donna had to say a few words about how great of a fiance he was. Donna gave a few crocodile tears and comforted Nerys, who was genuinely crying over his death. Donna had always suspected that Lance and Nerys were together behind her back but she couldn’t care less. She was feeling antsy and needed to get out of London for a bit. So, after she had sold her flat, she wrote a note to her mother and grandad, saying where she was going, Donna packed her bags and went to Egypt for a couple of weeks. 

Egypt was a disappointment for her though, she couldn't explore much of Egypt without multiple warnings, and before she knew it, she was on a plane back to London. She went back to living with her mother, her grandad joining after the passing of Donna’s father, and temping. However, she never gave up looking for the Doctor, she looked through all the different conspiracy theories she could find and explored them, knowing the Doctor would never stray from any trouble. The latest conspiracy theory she could find was about the new weight loss company, Adipose Industries. Donna grabbed her car keys,her folder full of her adventures, her Health and Safety badge she had kept from one of her previous jobs and her jacket before heading off.

Unbeknownst to Donna, someone else had a plan to investigate the same company on the same day. 

Donna looked up at the looming building in front of her and squashed down that instinct to get away from there. She paused at the front of the building before walking through, towards a security guard. “Donna Noble, Health and Safety.” With a quick flip, the badge was too quickly hidden to be able to have been read. The security guard watched as she disappeared through the doors.

The Doctor had walked into the back of the building, with the help of his sonic. He saw someone walk towards him so he showed them his psychic paper that said ‘John Smith, Health and Safety’. He walked towards the lift and pressed a button, bouncing slightly on his heels as he was waiting for it. It dinged and then the Doctor got in, pressing for the ground floor. When it arrived on the floor, the Doctor headed off.

If he had been paying attention and looked to the right of him, he would’ve seen a familiar red-haired woman, who was busy on her phone to notice him as she stepped into her lift. 

Donna arrived at her floor and headed towards the direction of where the CEO of the company was doing a press launch. Donna sat in the middle of a crowd and waited for the conference to begin. 

The Doctor broke into the projector room and watched the conference from there.

“Adipose Industries. The twenty first century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom, from fat, the Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is!” Miss Foster held up a small red and white pill.”You just take one capsule, One capsule, once a day, for three  
weeks. And the fat, as they say...” Miss Foster, and the rest of the room, looked up at the projector.

“The fat just walks away.” The projector played the slogan.

Next to Donna, a woman piped up.”Excuse me, Miss Foster, if I could..? I'm Penny Carter, Science Correspondent for the Observer .” The woman, Penny, was cut off by Miss Foster.

“Oh yes. You've written quite a bit about us already.” Miss Foster’s voice held a particular disdain for Penny although Donna couldn’t figure out why.

“And I'm not about to stop. But there's a thousand diet pills on the market, and a thousand conmen stealing people's money. How do we know the fat isn't going straight into your bank account?” Penny asked and Donna watched as Miss Foster geared up a response in her head.

“Penny, if cynicism burnt calories, we’d all be as thin as rakes. But if you want the science, then I'll oblige.” Miss Foster gave a nod up to the projection booth and the whole room watched as an image of a body.

“The Adipose Capsule is composed of a synthesised mobilising lipase, bound to a large protein molecule. The mobilising lipase breaks up the triglycerides stored in the adipose cells, which then enter the bloodstream... ” The projector explained. 

Donna zoned out as she contemplated Miss Foster, there was something about her that doesn’t sit right with Donna. She may act like a CEO of a company, but she seemed bored about it. Like the company had another purpose instead of causing obesity to basically disappear.

The Doctor watched the projector, already suspicious of the company when he first heard of them. He doesn’t know why yet though.

“100% legal, 100% effective.” Miss Foster brought the attention back to her.

“But can I ask, how many people have taken the pills to date?” Penny asked as she wrote onher notepad.

“We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone. But from next week, we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here. And Britain will be thin!” Miss Foster told the room and with that the press launch was ended. Donna waited as the journalists all stood up from their spots and left. Donna stood up, grabbed her folder and badge before making her way towards the door.

Before she left though, she thought she saw a familiar mop of wild brown hair from the projector room. She glanced back at the room but couldn’t see anything, so she shrugged it off and left the room, heading towards the cubicles.

The Doctor left the room quickly, loitering with a group of journalists before heading off towards the cubicles.

When Donna reached the cubicles, she grabbed a chair and walked into the nearest cubicle, where a young man, Craig by his name tag,, was saying “That's a three week course of pills for the special price of 45 pounds...”

“Donna Noble, Health and Safety, don’t mind me.” Donna said quietly.

The Doctor reached a cubicle a couple of meters down from Donna, unknowingly, and was greeted by a young woman.

“John Smith, Health and Safety, don’t mind me.” He quickly flashed his psychic paper at the woman, who was called Claire.

“...we can deliver within three working days, registered post...” The woman rattled off the appropriate information as she watched the Doctor.

“...the box comes with 21 days' worth of pills, a full information pack, and our special free gift, an Adipose Industries pendant…” Craig told the customer and he watched as Donna took the pendant out of the box, looking at it curiously.

The Doctor had already grabbed the pendant and was also watching it curiously. “...it's made of 18 carat gold, and it's yours for free... No, we don't give away pens. Sorry. No, I can't make an exception, no.” Claire told her customer as the Doctor fiddled with the pendant.

“I’ll just keep this for testing. And I will also need a list of all your customers.” Donna told Craig a couple of seconds after he finished his call.

“S’pose so.” He mumbled.

“Where’s the printer?” Donna asked him.

“Just over there by the plant.” Craig told her. Donna stood up from the chair to make sure she knew where it was.

“Which plant, that plant?” Donna nodded towards a big plant and Craig said yes as he looked in that direction.

“Lovely.” Donna stood back down.

If she had stayed up a little longer, she would’ve noticed the Doctor who had poked his head up to find the same printer.

“And that’s the printer over there?” He asked Claire.

“By the plant, yeah.” Claire nodded.

“Brilliant!” The Doctor exclaimed and he sat back down.

“Does it need a code? The last place I worked at, the printer needed a code.” Donna asked Craig, as she stood back up.

“No, I can do it from here.” Craig told her and she sat back down. 

The Doctor stood back up.”Has it got paper?” He asked Claire.

“Yeah, Jimbo keeps it well stocked.” Claire told him.

Before the Doctor could respond, he noticed the familiar silhouette of Miss Foster and he quickly sat back down.

“Everyone! Excuse me! If I could have your attention!” Miss Foster grabbed the attention of the employees, most of them standing whilst some just glanced from their cubicles.

Donna and the Doctor rose up, both wanting to see what Miss Foster has to say. Before they could notice each other, Miss Foster took a step forward, blocking each other’s view.

“On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day. It's not enough! I want one hundred sales, per person, per day, and if not, you'll be replaced. Cos if anyone's good at trimming the fat,it's me. Now back to it!” Throughout Miss Foster’s little ‘pep talk’, the Doctor and Donna ducked as she looked in their respective directions, peeking their heads up as she looked the other way.

When Miss Foster had gone, the Doctor turned to Claire.”Anyway! If you could just print that off, thanks.” The Doctor smiled.

“Print off the list, and I’ll get out of your way.” Donna told Craig. When Craig had printed off the list, Donna said “Lovely, thanks. See you.” and she went off towards the printer, narrowly missing seeing the Doctor who had stood up again.

Before the Doctor could leave the cubicle, Claire pulled him down and when he looked at her, he noticed her holding a piece of paper.”What’s that?” He asked.

“My phone number.” She stated as if it was obvious.

“What for?” He was mentally wincing at what he thinks the answer might be.

“Health and Safety. You be Health, I’ll be safety.” She told him, her tone dripping with innuendo.

“Ah, that that contravenes paragraph 5, subsection C, sorry, thanks, bye -” The Doctor rushed out and he left the cubicle.

Donna had grabbed all of the papers from the printer and was examining them for the closest customer, which meant that she avoided the Doctor walking towards the printer.

The Doctor looked confused as he couldn’t see the list, he checked everywhere around the printer but there were no papers hanging around. He winced before walking back towards Claire who gave him a smile as he said “Hi, again!”. Without much prompting, she printed off another list and off he went with a goodbye wave to Claire.

Both the Doctor and Donna picked a random person from the list, ending up a street’s distance away from each other.

Donna walked up to the house with her clipboard and badge ready. She knocked on teh door and she didn't have to wait long before the house owner opened the door.

“Stacey Campbell?” Donna checked her list before looking up at the woman.

“Who wants to know?” Stacey asked, wary of the stranger.

“My name’s Donna, I represent Adipose Industries, and you’re on our list of valued customers - I was wondering if I can just ask you a few questions?” Donna gave a flash of her badge, making sure to cover up the company logo.

“Sorry, I’m going out, I’ve booked a taxi and it’s on its way.” Stacey smiled apologetically.

“Tell you what, answer the questions and I’ll get the taxi with you. Then I’ll pay for it on expenses. How’s that sound?” Donna compromised.

Stacey smiled at Donna, relaxing slightly before looking back into her house.”Um, brilliant, Okay! I’m still getting ready though, I’m in a bit of rush-” Stacey rushed out.

“You just carry on, don’t mind me!” Donna interrupted and Stacye held the door open for Donna before shutting it behind Donna.

The Doctor approached a house with his own list and his psychic paper, his sonic in it’s usual pocket.”Mr Roger Davey! I'm calling on behalf of Adipose Industries, I just need to ask you a few questions -” The Doctor exclaimed as soon as the man had opened the door, flashing the psychic paper at Roger before putting it back into his pocket.

“Oh, brilliant, come in, those pills, they've been like magic! If you want me to do adverts, anything, testimonials, I'm your man -” Roger interrupted with glee, holding the door open for the Doctor before disappearing into the living room, leaving the DOctor to close the door behind him.

In Stacey’s living room Donna had begun asking questions about the pills, letting Stacey answer as she was getting ready.

“- it's been fantastic, I started the pills on Thursday, five days later, I've lost eleven pounds!” Stacey exclaimed happily.

“And no side effects or anything?” Donna asked, jotting Stacey’s answers on a blank sheet of paper.

“No, I feel fantastic, it's a new lease of life. What d'you think about the earrings, do they work?” Stacey held a pair of purple earrings and showed them to Donna.

“Lovely, yeah. Going on a date?” Donna asked politely.

“The opposite, I’m going to dump him!.” Stcaye told Donna happily.

“No soulmate then?” Donna asked her.

“Nah not for me, you?” Stacey shook her head.

“I have one, haven’t found him yet.” Donna's eyes grew distant as she gently traced the bracelet hidden by her jacket, suddenly feeling it weigh heavily on her wrist.

“Aw, I’m sure you will.” Stacye looked at Donna sympathetically before turning to the stairs.”Won’t be long, if the taxi comes, just give me a shout!” Stacey called as she disappeared up the stairs, leaving a slightly awkward Donna sitting in the living room.

Over at Roger’s house, the house owner was sitting in his chair whilst the Doctor was pacing the room.”I’ve been on the pills for two weeks now, I’ve lost 14 kilos!” Roger told the Doctor happily.

“That’s the same amount everyday?” The Doctor asked him, stopping to look at Roger.

“One kilo exactly. You wake up and it’s disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it’s gone by ten past one in the morning.” Roger clarified.

“Really? Why’d you say that?” The Doctor asked Roger.

“That’s when I get woken up, might as well weigh myself at the same time. But it's driving me mad - ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot, without fail… the burglar alarm goes off.” Roger explained as the Doctor intently.

“Show me this burglar alarm.” The Doctor practically ordered Roger, who scrambled up to his feet and walked the Doctor outside. 

They both stared up at the security alarm in thought before Roger stated to explain “I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog, you name it. But no! Ten past one in the morning, off it goes.”

“But no burglars?” The Doctor asked.

“Nothing! I’ve given up looking.” Roger exclaimed.

The Doctor concentrated hard before asking Roger “Tell me Roger… Have you got a cat flap?”. Roger looked at him confused, before leading the Doctor to it. The Doctor laid down, outstretched in the hallway, examining the cat flap with his sonic screwdriver. Roger laid beside, both of them now cramped like sardines in the tiny hallway.

“It was here when I bought the house. Never bothered with it, really, I'm not a cat person.” Roger explained to the Doctor.

“No, I've met cat people, you're nothing like them.” The Doctor told him distracted by cat flap, his mind generating multiple reasons for the alarm being set off.

“Is that what it is, though? Cats, getting inside the house?” Roger asked.

“Well, that's the thing about cat flaps. They don't just let things in. They let things out as well.” The Doctor ominously told the house owner.

“Like what?” Roger asked.

“The fat just walks away...” The Doctor uttered, staring out of the cat flap.

With a jump, the Doctor was up on his feet, startling Roger, who quickly scrambled up to get off the floor.

“Right, how about a cup of tea?” The Doctor asked a bewildered Roger, who silently nodded and went into the kitchen, the Doctor following close behind.

Over at Stacey’s house, Donna was still sitting in the living room, with Stacey upstairs in the bathroom.”Won’t be long!” Donna heard Stacey call down the stairs.

“That’s all right!” Donna called back, grabbing the pendant out of her pocket. Out of boredom, she looked at it.’It’s sort of pretty, and it’s expensive too’ Donna remarked to herself. As her eyes grew distant with her mind filling possible gaps in the ‘case’, she barely noticed she had begun to twist the pendant.

After her mind was coming up with blank gaps for her ‘case’, Donna stopped what she was doing and looked at her watch. She decided to see what Stacey was doing.”You alright up there?” Donna asked as she ascended the stairs.

”Yeah” Donna heard Stacey call back, but something was different about her tone. She sounded confused and scared instead of the confident tone she had earlier.

“I like what you’ve done with the hall!” Donna shouted at Stacey.”Have you lived here long? Stacey, are you alright in there?” Donna asked, getting concerned by the lack of an answer. “Wouldn’t mind a little visit myself, is everything ok in there?” Donna asked again. She reached the top of the stairs and walked to a stop in front of the bedroom.

She knocked on the door.“Only me… Do you mind if I pop to the loo? Stacey?” Donna asked, ears pressed against the door.

“...help me.” Donna heard a mumble.

“I’m sorry?” Donna asked.

“Help me, Oh God! Help me!” Stacey cried in the bathroom.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Donna tried the lock. When it didn’t open, she tried to shove it, thump it and bang it, trying to get the door open with all of her might.“Stacey! Stacey!!” Donna shouted through the door.

Suddenly Donna heard a terrified scream then it went silent. Donna froze before she heard something coming from the bathroom. She gave the door a last shove and to her relief, it opened. The relief became shock when Donna looked at the window and a creature waved at her before jumping out of it. Donna rushed to the window and watched as they disappeared down an alleyway.

Donna rushed out of the house, running in the direction of the creatures. She stopped at the middle of the street, barely able to move out of the way as a black van sped past her.

The Doctor had a weird contraption out and it started beeping. With a quick goodbye, the Doctor rushed off in the direction where the beeps were getting faster. He stepped out of the way of the same black van that nearly ran Donna over. The beeps from his contraption were suddenly quicker but before the Doctor had any hope of catching up to the van, it disappeared into the night.

Donna sighed, feeling the burden of Stacey’s death on her shoulders. She walked towards Stacey’s house and a taxi arrived.”Stacey Campbell?” He leant out of his window.

“No, she’s gone.” Donna told him.

“Gone where?” The taxi driver asked snappily.

“Just...gone.” Donna didn’t want to tell him about the events that just occured, knowing she would’ve sounded like a crazy woman.

“Great, thanks for nothing.” The taxi driver said angrily before switching his light on and driving off.

Donna watched the taxi disappear into the night from the middle of the street. Similarly the DOctor stood in the next street over, mulling over the contraption’s readings.They stood in their own spots and looked around before walking off into the night, in opposite directions from each other.

Donna got into her car that was down the road and drove home. The car was silent as she mulled over what happened to Stacey. When she arrived at her house, she got out of the car and when she got into the house, she leant against the door, the events flashing behind her closed eyes. The house was almost quiet, Donna could hear the radio playing quietly in the kitchen.

“And what time do you call this?” Sylvia walked from the kitchen, drying the plate in her hands.

“How old am I?” Donna asked bitterly.

“Not old enough to use a phone.” Sylvia remarked. Donna sighed as she walked into the kitchen, making a cup of tea and sitting down at the kitchen table as Sylvia bustled around her.

“...I thought you were only moving back for a couple of weeks, but look at you! You're never gonna find a flat, not while you're on the dole! I mean, it's hardly the 1980's, no one's unemployed these days. Except you! How long did that job with Health and Safety last, two days? Then you walk out! 'I have other plans.' Well I've not seen 'em! And it's no good sitting there dreaming, no one's gonna come along with a magic wand and make your life better-”

Before Sylvia could rant anymore, Donna interrupted. “Where's Grandad?” she asked as she took a sip of tea.

“Where’d you think he is? He’s up the hill. Always up the hill!” Sylvia exasperatedly said.

Donna washed her cup and put it away before changing into more comfortable, and warmer, clothes. She grabbed her Grandad’s thermos and walked up the hill.

When she got there, she saw him by his telescope. Wilf looked up when he heard a rustle in the grass.”Aye aye, here comes trouble!” He teased and Donna smiled at him, feeling a weight come off of her shoulders.

“Permission to board ship, sir?” She joked.

“Granted. Was she nagging you?” He asked her.

“Big time, Brought you a thermos,” Donn handed him the thermos before she went to the shed and brought out the blanket Wilf always kept in there.”Seen anything?”She asked him.

“I've got Venus, with an apparent magnitude of minus 3.5. At least, that's what it says in my book. Come and see! There you go...” Wwilf told her excitedly.

Donna knelt on the blanket and peered through the telescope, seeing a small dot through the telescope.

“The only planet in our solar system that’s named after a woman.” Wild said wistfully.

“Good for her..” Donna smiled as she gazed at the planet. She pulled away from the telescope and leant back on her legs.“How far away is that?” She asked Wilf.

“About 26 million miles. But we'll get there! One day. Hundred years time, we'll be striding out amongst the stars, jiggling about with all them aliens, just you wait.” Wilf told her excitedly.

“You really believe in all that stuff, don’t you?” She asked him, gazing up at the sky wistfully.

“They’re all over the place these days! If I wait here long enough...” Wilf trailed off as he imagined what aliens are like.

“Don’t suppose you’ve seen a little blue box?” Donna asked him.

“Is that slang for something?” Wilf asked a distant Donna. Donna sat back on her hands as she gazed up into the night sky

“No, I mean it. If you ever see a little blue box, flying up there in the sky... You shout for me, Gramps. Oh, you just shout.” Donna told him, her tone full of yearning and longing for a life out on the stars, travelling with the Doctor.

“I don’t understand half of the things you say these days.” He said not unkindly.

“Nor me.” Donna agreed.

“Fair do’s, you’ve had a funny old time of it lately.” Wilf told her.”Poor old whatsisname, Lance, bless him. That barmy old Christmas.” Wilf paused.”I wish you'd tell us what really happened.” He admitted.

Donna felt a pang of anger at Lance before pushing it away.“I know. It's just... The things  
I've seen. Sometimes I think I'm going mad. Even tonight, I was…” She hesitated. “Doesn't matter.”

“Well, you’re not yourself, I’ll give you that. You just seem to be drifting, sweetheart.” Wilf told her honestly.

“I’m not drifting. I’m waiting.” Donna admitted.

“What for?” He asked.

“The right man.” Donna told him and WIlf laughed.

“Oh, the same old story! Trying to find your soulmate?” Wilf teased.

“No I don’t mean like that, I don’t think anyway. But he’s real, I’ve seen him, I’ve met him. Just the once, then I let him fly away.” Donna told wolf, her tone full of regret.

“Well then, go and find him.” Wilf nudged her.

“I’ve tried, he’s nowhere.” Donna said, her voice taking on a melancholic tone.

“Oi! Since when did you give up? I remember you, six years old, your mother said, no holiday this year, so off you toddled, all on your own, and got on the bus! To Strathclyde! We had police out and everything!” They both laughed at the memory.”Where's she gone, then? Eh? Where's that girl?” Wilf said, giving her food for thought.

“You're right. Cos he's still out there somewhere. I'll find him. Even if I have to wait a hundred years... I'll find him.” She said, determination running through her blood. She stared up at the night sky, counting the stars and guessing the constellations, imagining her and the Doctor travelling through them.

The Doctor was examining the pendant on the Tardis.”Fascinating. Seems to be a bioflipdigital-stitch specifically for...” He looked up, remembering he had no companion to rattle all of this information to. He felt a pang of yearning as he thought of telling Donna all of this, he wished he could’ve taken her on the adventures he had been on the last year. He understood her reluctance though, he had just lost Rose and then Donna came and he hadn’t had the time to grieve for Rose. He sighed and walked away from the console disappearing into his bedroom for the rest of the night.

_(The next day)_

Donna was determined to get to the bottom of what was going on at Adipose Industries. She grabbed her car keys and left the house, pushing the door shut. She nearly got into the car but Sylvia stopped her.”It’s my turn for having the car! What do you need it for?” Syliva shouted at her, clad in her pyjamas.

“A quick getaway!” Donna shouted back, climbing into the car and quickly leaving the driveway.

When the Doctor woke up, he got changed and quickly flipped levers on the Tardis, making it dematerialise.

Donna parked her car in an empty street, slamming the car door shut, and walking towards Adipose Industries. Behind her car, down the street, the Tardis materialised and the Doctor stepped out. 

The duo went their separate ways, the Doctor going back to the back entrance, and Donna waltzing through the corridor. The Doctor stopped at a storeroom, and after checking to make sure no one could see him, he entered. Donna entered the ladies bathroom and went into the last one before locking it behind her.

After a couple of hours, the work day was over and the Doctor and Donna could come out of their hiding spot. The Doctor ran down a corridor. Donna was stretching her limbs out when her phone began to ring. She walked backwards into the toilet and answered it.”Not now!” Donna whispered harshly down the phone.

“I need the car, where are you?” Sylvia said snippishly.

“I can’t. I’m busy.” Donna avoided the question.

“Why are you whispering?” Sylvia asked.

Donna hesitated before answering.”...I’m in church.” Donna lied.

“What are you in church for?” Sylvia asked, baffled.

“...Praying.” Donna told her.

“Ha! Bit late for that, Madam!” Sylvia let out a harsh laugh. Donna heard Wild in the background ask why she was in church.”Hush, you! Go to the hill!” Sylvia said to Wilf before turning back to Donna.”But I need the car, I'm going out with Suzette, she's invited all the Wednesday Girls, apparently she's been on those Adipose pills, she says she looks marvellous -”

Before Sylvia could say anymore, Donna heard the bathroom door open with a slam. Donna hung up on her mum and held her breath.

“We know you're in here. So why don't you make this nice and easy, and show yourself?” Donna heard Miss Foster threaten. She put her feet on top of the toilet seat and waited with bated breath, terrified.

“I'm waiting.” There was no sound. “I warn you. I'm not a patient woman. Now, out you come.” Donna was trapped, there was only one exit that Miss Foster was blocking. Donna suddenly wished the Doctor was here, he’d know what to do.

“Right, we'll do it the hard way. Get her!” Miss Foster shouted. Donna can suddenly the guards kick open the bathroom stalls. She jolted with each one. They kept coming closer, a bang echoing in Donna’s head. Donna stifled a whimper that was going to escape, eyes shut as the guards were at the stall next to her. 

“There you are.” Miss Foster sighed in disappointment. Donna opened her eyes in shock as a new voice piped up.

“I've been through the records, Foster! All your results have been faked, there's something about those pills you're not telling us -” That voice belonged to the journalist, what was her name? Penny Carter, Donna remembered. She found it hard to be surprised as Penny was intent on finding answers to her questions yesterday.

“Oh, I think I’ll be conducting this interview, Penny.” Miss Foster tutted and Donna listened as their footsteps disappeared down the corridor. Donna breathed a sigh of relief and planted her feet on the floor. She peeked through a crack in the stall door before stepping out, walking quietly through the empty corridors, senses on alert.

The Doctor was up on the roof and he headed towards the windows cleaner cradle, using it to lower himself and let him peer into the rooms. He stopped outside one room and he had to duck as Miss Foster dragged someone into the room. He grabbed his stethoscope and placed it in his ears, grabbing the end and placing it on the window.

Donna quietly crept into the hallway outside of the window and ducked beneath the door. They both began to listen the conversation.

“You can't tie me up! What sort of a country do you think this is?” Penny asked, astonished at the rough behvaiour.

“Oh, it's a beautifully fat country. And believe me, I've travelled a long way to find obesity on this scale.” Miss Foster smiled at Penny, though her gaze was anything but soft.

“So, come on then, Miss Foster, those pills. What are they?” Penny asked.

“Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed. This is the spark of life.” Miss Foster held up one of the Adipose pills.

“And what's that supposed to mean?” Penny asked sharply.  
“Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly attracts them. That part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanises it to form a body.” Miss Foster explained. 

“What do you mean, a body?” Penny inquired.

“I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster. As in, foster mother. And these are my children.” The Doctor and Donna heard Penny gasp, both getting frustrated that they couldn’t see what was going on in the room.

“... You’re kidding me, what the hell is that?” Penny exclaimed.

“Adipose. It's called an Adipose. Made out of living fat.” Miss Foster told her. 

Donna slowly stood up, peeking through the door window. At the same time, on the opposite side, the Doctor rose up too. 

The Doctor looked to his left, now staring at the Adipose on the desk.

Donna looked to her right, also staring at the Adipose.

The Doctor looked forward, catching a glint of hair in the light by the door.

Donna looked forward, feeling eyes on her. 

They both stared at each other in shock.”Oh my God! It’s the Doctor!” Donna mentally cheered. The Doctor stared at her in confusion.”How did she find me?” He mentally asked.

“Donna?” He said out loud.

“Doctor!” Donna mouthed the words.

“The Doctor: but...what? Wha... What?” He mouthed, still in shock.

“Oh! My! God!” Donna exaggeratedly mouthed, excitement clear in her eyes.

“But... how???” He mouthed.

“It's me!” Donna pointed to herself.

“I can see that!” The Doctor did action for ‘see’ and pointed it back at her.

“Oh this is brilliant!” Donna was so excited and her hair bounced as she nodded quickly.  
“But... what the hell are you doing there?” The Doctor asked.

Donna just smiled at him and waved at him, he waved back. They were both oblivious to the now quiet room who was watching them with curious glances.

“But, but, but, why, what, where, when?” The Doctor asked.

“You!! I was looking for you!” Donna pointed to him.

“Me?” The Doctor stopped to point to himself in confusion.”What for?” He asked.

”I came here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you! And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You!” Donna did actions to describe what she was saying, not realising the Doctor was just focusing on and could understand what she meant. Towards the end, Donna decked a bit before pointing to the desk, freezing when she noticed Miss Foster looking at her.

The Doctor looked at Miss Foster, who looked at him. The reunited duo could feel the impending danger, but they also felt like school children looking up at the headmaster.

“Are we interrupting you?” Miss Foster asked calmly.

Donna stood there, shocked before looking back at the Doctor, who met her gaze. He nodded in a way that clearly meant run. So she did just that.

“Get her!” The Doctor heard Miss Foster say and he saw the guards go after Donna with their guns. He quickly sonic-ed the door.

“And him.” Miss Foster told them. The DOctor pointed the sonic up at the cradle controls and made it pull him up quickly.

Donna ran for her life, heading up the stairs towards the Doctor, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

The Doctor clambered out of the cradle and ran as fast as he could down the stairs.

The duo ran into each other after running up the stairs, Donna immediately going to hug him.

“Oh my God! I don’t believe it! You even have the same suit, don’t you ever change?” Donna asked him, baffled.

“Thanks Donna, not right now-” The Doctor heard doors bang open and he looked down the stairs, seeing the two guards coming up the stairs. They looked at each other, smiles growing so big it should’ve hurt and he grabbed her hand.”Just like old times!” He shouted before pulling her up to the roof.

The Doctor shoved the Access Doors open and ran towards the cradle, pulling loose wires and tools out of his pocket.

Donna began to speak excitedly “cos I thought, how do I find the  
Doctor? And then I thought, just look for trouble, and he'll turn up! So I looked everywhere, you name it, UFO sightings, crop circles, sea monsters, all those weird things in Cardiff, I investigated them all - like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet he's connected! Cos the thing is, you opened my eyes, Doctor, I believe it now, all those amazing things out there, I believe them all, well, except for that replica of the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean, that's gotta be a hoax, hasn't it - ?” Donna asked him, running out of breath after talking too fast after running.

“What d’ya mean, bees are disappearing?” He asked, turning to her before going back to the cradle.

“I dunno, that's what it says on the internet, but on the same site, there were all these conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries, so I thought, let's take a look.” Donna told him as she watched him climb into the cradle. In the distance, Donna could hear the guards stomping up the stairs. 

“In you get!” The Doctor held out his arms for her to take.

“What? In that thing?” She asked him dubiously as she pointed at the cradle.

“Yes! In that thing!” The Doctor told her.

“But if we go down in that, they'll just call it back up again!” Donna pointed out.

“No, cos I've locked the controls with a sonic cage, I'm the only one who can control it - not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is very unlikely!” The Doctor rushed to reassure her. Donna huffed and she climbed in, the Doctor steadying her as she swayed slightly.

“You ok?” He asked, as she held onto the side and very stubbornly didn’t look down.

“Yeah, I don’t do heights though Spaceman.” She gritted out.

“Oh!” He winced sympathetically, rubbing his hand on her back in slow circles.“I’ll try and keep it steady.” He told her and she nodded before feeling them descend.

Suddenly Donna felt the cradle descend impossibly fast, she let out a scream and she chose not to close her eyes. She heard a familiar buzz of the sonic and the cradle stopped so suddenly that she fell onto the floor, the Doctor narrowly missing landing on top of her. SHe groaned as she rubbed her back, she had landed on a tool.

“Hold on! We can get through the window!” The Doctor shouted. She would’ve been reassured if she hadn’t heard what sounds like shutters around the building, rendering his sonic screwdriver useless.

“I can’t get it open!” The Doctor shouted. Donna looked down and she grabbed the tool she had landed on earlier.

“Smash it then!” Donna began to pound the tool against the window. 

She heard a fizzing sound and looked up, hitting the Doctor on his arm, causing him to look up too.”She’s cutting the cable!” Donna shouted in fear.

The cable snapped on the left, which was Donna’s side, causing her to tumble out of the cradle. The Doctor immediately went onto her side, trying to catch her, however he couldn’t get to her in time. He had to watch Donna tumble out the cradle and he breathed out in relief slightly as he saw she had grabbed onto the loose wire.

“Donna?” He shouted.

“Doctor!” She screamed, holding onto the wire as tightly as she could.

“Hold on!” The Doctor shouted down.

“I am!” Donna mentally cursed him in her head. The Doctor grabbed the cable and tried to heave it up, but as Donna expected, he couldn’t. The Doctor looked up and saw Miss Foster holding a sonic device at the othe cable. With great effort, he pulled himself to the other end and pointed his sonic at her hand, causing her to let it go in shock. As the pen dropped, the Doctor leaned as far back he could go so he could catch it.

When he did catch it, he pointed it at the window to his left.”That’s better!” He shouted as he made his way through the window.

Donna’s grip on the cable was slipping, she could feel it, and it only terrified her more.”I’m going to fall!” She shouted up at the Doctor.

Donna could only cling to the cable as the Doctor began to make his way through the window, and the fear quickly turned to anger.“This is your fault! I should’ve stayed at home!” She shouted up at him, anger and fear lacing her tone.

“Won’t be a minute!” He shouted down at her, disappearing into the window. 

Donna could only hope that he would help her somehow, it wasn’t fair that she had only found the man again, the only man who actually made her feel different, only to have him slip through her fingers again.

The Doctor ran down the stairs, hurrying as fast as he could to get to Donna, he wasn’t going to let go that easily. He ran into the room where they met again and saw her legs flailing outside the window. He ran to it and immediately sonic-ed it.

“Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?” A voice asked from behind him. He looked back and saw a woman tied up.

“What are you, a journalist?” He asked, focusing on the window.

“Yeah.” She said.

“Well then, make it up,” The Doctor managed to open the window and grab onto Donna’s legs.”I’ve got you. Donna! Stop kicking!” He shouted up at her. 

Donna had felt someone hold her legs and it wasn’t until she heard the Doctor’s voice that she stopped struggling.

“You’re going to have to let go of the cable Donna” The Doctor told her.

“Are you kidding, Spaceman? I’ll fall!” She shouted at him.

“Donna, I’ve got you. You need to let go, do it slowly and try and hold onto the window pane if you can.” The Doctor told her.

“Ok, ok. You have got me though Doctor? I’m not exactly a lightweight.” Donna warned him.

“Yes, I have you!” He reassured her. Donna closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She reached out with her left hand to grab onto the window pane, the Doctor’s grip on her leg never wavering even as she slid down slightly. She let out a yelp and gripped the window pane tighter, feeling the window pane pinching into her fingers. Hugging the window pane, she let go of the cable in her other hand, bringing it quickly to the window pane.

“That’s it Donna! Now, slowly lower yourself. Remember I got you!” He told her. Donna slid down carefully. When her arms were outstretched, she tried to get a leg through the windows. She felt the Doctor tightly grip her waist and she let go of the window pane, letting the DOctor pull her into the room. She pushed her jacket down and grinned at the Doctor, the adrenaline pulsing through her veins.

“I was right, it’s always like this with you, isn't it?” She asked.

“Oh yes! And off we go!” He grinned madly at her and they ran out of the room. 

The Doctor stopped, causing Donna to do the same. He poked his head around the door when he heard Penny shout.“Oh sorry!” He sonic-ed the rope and was off again. Well, until he poked his head around again, telling Penny ”now do yourself a favour, get out!”.

“Doctor!” Donna shouted down the hallway, he grinned at her and they began to run again. 

They had made it to the cubicle area when they were stopped, Miss Foster in front of them with her two guards.”Well then. At last.” Miss Foster said with a strained smile.

“Evening!” The Doctor cheerfully said.

“Hello!” Donna gave a little wave.

“Nice to meet you, I’m the Doctor!” The Doctor told Miss Foster

“And I’m Donna.” Donna smiled.

“Partners in crime,” The Doctor and Donna gave each other a look.”and obviously offworlders by your sonic technology.” Miss Foster turned to the Doctor.

“Oh! I’ve still got your sonic pen. Nice.. I like it. Sleek, it’s kind of… sleek.” He held out the pen who glanced at it.

“Definitely sleek.” She nodded before looking back at Miss Foster.

“And if you were to sign your real name, it’d be?” He asked Miss Foster.

“Matron Cofelia of the Five Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet. Intergalactic Class.” Miss Foster, now Cofelia, introduced herself.

“A wetnurse.. Using humans as surrogates.” The Doctor pointed out.

“I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost.” Cofelia told the Doctor.

“What’d you mea, lost? How do you lose a planet?” The Doctor asked in confusion.

“Oh the politics is none of my concern. I’m just here to take care of the children, on behalf of the parents.” Cofelia brushed his question.

“What? Like an outer space supernanny?” Donna asked, trying to get a grasp on the events happening.

“Yes, if you like.” Cofelia patronized Donna, who took a step back, glaring slightly at the Matron.

“So those little things, they're made out of fat, yeah? But that woman last night, Stacy Campbell,  
there was nothing left of her.” Donna told the Doctor and Cofelia.

“Oh, In a crisis, the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Though it does make them a little bit sick, the poor things” Cofelia sounded sympathetic but the Doctor and Donna suspected the sympathy wasn't for the human race.

“What about poor Stacey?” Donna asked, horrified, stepping slightly towards the Doctor who had been completely silent, his eyes cold and calculating.

“Seeding a level five planet is against galactic law.” The Doctor told Cofelia.

“Are you threatening me?” Cofelia turned to the Doctor.

“I'm trying to help you, Matron. This is your one chance, because if you don't call this off, then I'll have to stop you.” The Doctor threatened.

“I hardly think you can stop bullets.” With that, the guards held their guns up and aimed them towards Donna and the Doctor.

The Doctor pushed Donna behind him, feeling her grip her sleeve tightly.”No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. One more thing, before dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?” The Doctor held the two sonic screwdrivers together, leaving Donna to stare at the Doctor with a confused, and slightly annoyed, expression.

“No.” Cofelia admitted.

“Neither do I, let’s find out!” The Doctor activated the two devices, letting out a shrill noise. Everyone, but the Doctor, held their hands over their ears. Donna heard glass shatter and she had enough.

“Come on!” She shouted as she shoved the Doctor, trusting him to follow her. At some point, the Doctor ran in front of her and he was leading them to... a storeroom? Donna stopped in front of it, dodging all the things the Doctor was throwing out of it.

“Well, that's one solution. Hide in a cupboard. I like it.” Donna said, bemused.

The Doctor removed a panel from the wall, revealing a green, glowing machine.“I've been hacking into this thing all day, because the matron's got a computer core running through the centre of the building. Triple deadlocked. But now I've got this,” He held up Cofelia’s sonic pen.”I can get into it” He told Donna, who climbed into the cupboard, stepping over the Doctor who was sprawled out on the floor, rewiring the machine.

“She's wired up this whole building. And we need a bit of privacy.” Handing over a handful of wires to Donna, the Doctor explained as he sent an electric shock through the system.“Just enough to stun them! But why's she wired up a tower block, what's it all for..?” The Doctor asked, rhetorically.

Donna leant on the wall the machine was in and observed the Doctor. Although he was bouncing around with his usual enthusiasm, making Donna smile slightly, he looked different.“You look older.” She told him softly.

“Thanks.” The Doctor joked, making her smile again before she dropped it into a concerned frown. Things between them were silent whilst she handed him another wire

“Still on your own?” She asked him, watching him carefully.

“Yup. Well, no. I had this friend. Martha she was called. Martha Jones. She was brilliant. And I destroyed half her life. But she's fine, she's good. She's gone.” The Doctor grew quiet and tense and Donna hated bringing it up.

“And Rose?”

“Still lost.” He glanced at her.”I thought you were going to travel the world?” He asked in a gentle tone.

“Easier said than done. It's like, I had that one day with you, and I was gonna change, I was gonna do so much. Then I woke up the next morning, and it's the same old life. Like you were never there. And I tried, I did try, I went to Egypt, I was gonna go barefoot and everything. But then it's all bus trips and guide books and don't drink-the-water, two weeks later you're back home, it's nothing like being with you. I must've been mad, turning down that offer.” She told him, eyes distant with her plans that had disappeared like a dream.

“What offer?” The Doctor asked. Donna’s heart sank with that question, he doesn’t remember asking her the question? Was the search for him all for nothing?. She quickly wiped any tears from her eyes.

“To come with you?” She prodded his memory. He froze before turning to her.

“You’re coming with me?” He asked, eyes full of hope.

“Oh yes please!” She smiled goofily at him.

“Right!” They both smiled at each other, feeling a piece of their lives were back in it’s rightful place. 

“Inducer activated.” The voice from the computer ruined the moment and they both turned to it, eyes filling with horror.

What’s it doing?” Donna asked the Doctor.

“She’s started the programme!” The Doctor shouted. The Doctor set back to work, getting Donna to hand a wire every couple of minutes.”So far they're just losing weight, but the Matron's gone up to emergency pathogenesis.”

“And that’s when they convert...” Donna trailed off.

“ skeletons, organs, everything - a million people are gonna die!” The Doctor ran a frantic hand through his hair. The Doctor continued to work on the machine, Donna behind him dutifully listening to what he needs.“I’ve got to cancel the signal.” The Doctor pulled out a pendant and attached it to the wires.”This contains a primary signal. If I can switch it off, the fat goes back to being just fat.” He explained to a confused Donna.

After a couple of seconds, the computer said “Inducer increasing”. The Doctor grew frantic as he realized that he couldn’t help anyone. He ran into the corridor.”No, she's doubled it, I need -” He stopped, eyes moving frantically up and down the corridor.”Haven’t got time!” He exclaimed, hands ruffling up his hair.”It's too far. I can't override it. They're all gonna die!” He ran back in.

Meanwhile, Donna was stood still watching the Doctor move around frantically.“Is there anything I can do?” She asked him, putting a hand on his shoulder, which she shrugged off.

“Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you. Got to double the base pulse, I can't.” The Doctor muttered helplessly.

“Doctor. Tell me. What do you need?” Donna asked him, placing her hands hands on his shoulders, making his frantic and helpless gaze face her determined one.

“ I need a second capsule to boost the override, but I've only got the one. I can't save them.” The Doctor told her. She reached into her pocket, finding the pendant she took earlier.

“Something like this?” She asked. He looked at the pendant she was holding, then back at her. They stared at each other, smiles stretching wide. He grabbed the pendant and methodically unscrewed it then attached it to the computer. She watched him in his element, feeling helpful for the first time in ages.

They looked at the computer as it turned off, the Doctor spinning around to hug her fiercely, making her laugh.”Oh you’re brilliant!” He shouted at her.

“Alright Martian” She chuckled, giving him a hug before stepping out of his grip. Suddenly the ground began to shake beneath them.“What the hell is that?” She asked the Doctor.

“They’re babies, which means they need nurseries.” The Doctor told her.

“When you say nursery you don't mean a creche in Notting Hill.” Donna asked him rhetorically.

“Nursery ship.” He stated. They both looked at the computer as it turned on.

“Incoming signal.”

“Hadn't we better go and stop them?” She glanced at the DOctor who had begun to read the text on the screen.

“Hang on. Instructions from the Adiposian First Family.” He read the text before it stopped inputting anymore.”She wired up the building, to convert it into a Levitation Post. Ohh, but we're not the ones in trouble now, she is!” He shouted before running off again. Shaking her head a little, Donna smiled and ran off, catching up to him at the stairs.

They both ran onto the roof, where they could see thousands of Adipose getting beamed up into the nursery ship.”What you gonna do, then? Blow them up?” Donn asked him, concerned.

“They're just children. Can't help where they came from.” The Doctor told her.

“Makes a change from last time. That Martha must've done you good.” Donn told him honestly.

“She did. Yeah, she did,” Then with a bit of cheek, he said “she fancied me”.

Donna fondly rolled her eyes at him before looking back up at the Adipose.”Oh, Mad Martha, that one. Blind Martha. Charity Martha.” She teased him. They both noticed an Adipose waving at them. They both gave a little wave back.”I’m waving at fat.” Donna said, amazed.

“Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works.” The Doctor noticed Cofelia.”There she is!” He shouted. They both ran to the edge urgently.

“Matron Cofelia, listen to me!” The Doctor shouted across to her.

“I don't think so, Doctor. And if I never see you again, it'll be soon” Cofelia’s smile vanished when she saw the Doctor and Donna.

“Oh why does no one ever listen?! I'm trying to help! Just... get across to the roof, can you shift the levitation beam?” He asked her, arm reaching out to her. Donna watched as the opportunity to rescue Cofelia was steadily closing.

“What, so you can arrest me?” Cofelia asked as if it was the stupidest thing on Earth.

“Just listen. I saw the Adiposian instructions. They know it's a crime, breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!” The Doctor rushed out.

“I'm far more than that, I'm a nanny, to all these children.” Cofelia spread her arms wide.

“Exactly! Mum and Dad have the kids now! They don’t need the nanny anymore!” The Doctor’s shouts grew frantic.

Cofelia’s eyes widened as she understood the extent of trouble she was in. However before she could do anything, the beam closed on her, causing her to fall.

Donna flinched as the scream and the sound Cofelia made as she landed on the ground echoed in her mind and the Doctor brought her in for a hug, burying her in his shoulder so she didn’t have to see any of it.

They both looked up at the sound of multiple engines whirring. They gave a wave to the Adipose, who waved back before disappearing into the sky. The silence between them was interrupted by the squeals of an ambulance below them.

“Come on, let’s go.” The Doctor grabbed Donna’s hand, walking slowly to the stairs and then down towards the exit.

When they exited the building, the silence between them was calm and they were both exhausted, Donna especially, she had witnessed not one but two deaths in two days. The silence between them was interrupted by the Doctor sending a pulse from the Sonic up twards the sky.

“What’s that?” Donn asked him quietly.

“Sending a statement to the Shadow Proclamation. Reporting the Adiposian crime. Suppose the children will be taken into care. I hate being official.” The Doctor groaned, causing Donna to chuckle. Before she could tease him, Penny appeared, tied to another chair.

“You two! You're just... mad! D'you hear me?? Mad! I'm gonna report you! For madness!” Penny shouted.

“Wasn’t she -?” Donna began to ask.

“Yeah.” The Doctor answered.

“Some people just can’t take it.” Donna shook her head, smiling.

“Nope!” The Doctor said.

“And some people can. So, then. Tardis! Come on!” Donna yelled excitedly, grabbing the Doctor’s hand and pulling him into the direction of her car, and unknowingly the Tardis. 

When they reached her car, Donna gasped in excitement.”That's my car! That's like destiny!  
And I've been ready for this, I packed ages ago, just in case,” Donna stopped speaking so she could open the boot of her car, pulling out multiple bags and suitcases.” cos I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather, he goes anywhere, I've gotta be prepared- ” Donna handed the Doctor the bags.

“You’ve got a hat box.” The Doctor said dubiously.

“Planets of the Hats! I’m ready!” Donna exclaimed, still smiling brightly, causing the Doctor’s confusion to melt away. They both walked to the Tardis, Donna’s excitement showing in every step she took, Donna entered the Tardis before turning back to him.

“I don't need injections, do I? Y'know, like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? Cos my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and…” She noticed his melancholic expression.”you're not saying very much.” She stated.

“No, but it's just…” He hesitated, looking for the right words.”It's a funny old life, in the Tardis, it's not...” He trailed off.

“You don’t want me.” Donna said, her happy expression falling into a heartbroken one. She didn’t want to leave but if he wanted her to, she would.

“I’m not saying that.” The Doctor told her, trying to reassure her.

“But you asked me.” She paused for a moment.”Would you rather be on your own?” She asked, concern rolling off her in waves.

“... No, actually no. It’s just that with Martha, last time, things got complicated. And I don't want you to regret going with me if you have someone here, soulmate or not.” The Doctor told her as he placed her luggage on the floor

“No one is waiting for me at home, except my Mum and Gramps. And I do have a soulmate but I’m not in a rush to find him.” She told him confidently.

“Are you sure? Because I just want a mate-” Before the Doctor could say anything else, Donna gasped.

“You just want To ate?” She exclaimed,mock- affronted.

“I just want A mate!” He stressed the ‘a’.

“You’re not mating with me sunshine!” She shouted as she hid her body behind the Tardis door.

“ **A** mate! I just want a mate!” He clarified.

She stepped out of the Tardis.” Well, just as well, because I'm not having any of that nonsense. I mean, you're just a long streak of nothing. You know, alien nothing” She gestured up and down at him. 

“There we are then. Ok!” He said, feeling a bit insulted.

“I can come?” She asked, a hopeful expression in her eyes.

“Yeah. Course you can, yeah.” The Doctor smiled brightly at her.”I’d love it!” He said honestly.

She walked up to him, arms out for a hug before she paused.”Car keys!” SHe stated, pulling out her car keys.

“What?” The Doctor asked, baffled by her change of the subject.

“I’ve got my mum’s car keys. Be back in a tick!” She shouted as she began to walk away, pulling her phone out. The Doctor watched her walk away from him for a couple of seconds, smiling at her back. He glanced at her luggage before sighing fondly and putting them into the Tardis. When the bags were all in, he waited at the console, arms crossed and one foot in front of the other, finally relaxing for the first time in a while.

Meanwhile, Donna was walking back to the entrance of the building, on her phone to her Mum.“I know, Mum. I saw it. Little fat people. Listen, I've got to go. I'm going to stay with Veena for a bit.” Donna told her, excitement leaking into her tone.

“It was in the sky!” Sylvia exclaimed down the phone.

“Yeah. I know. Spaceship. But, I've still got the car keys. Look. There is a bin on Brook Street, about thirty feet from the corner. I'm going to leave them there.” Donna explained to Sylvia.

“What, a bin?” Sylvia shouted, incredulously.

“Yes, a bin.” Donna confirmed. She placed the car keys in a random bin.

”But you can’t do that!” Sylvia told Donna.

“Oh, stop complaining. The car's just down the road a bit. Got to go. Really. Got to go. Bye.” Donna excitedly hung up the phone. She looked around and approached a blonde woman.”Listen, there is this woman that's going to come along. A tall blond woman called Sylvia. Tell her that bin there, all right? It'll all make sense. That bin there.” Donna pointed to the bin and ran off, feeling giddy with excitement.

When she got to the Tardis, she paused and took a deep breath before walking in. The Doctor watched her from the console.”Off we go then!” Donna smiled at him.

“Here it is! The Tardis! Bigger on the inside than it is on the -” The Doctor started his usual introduction.

“- oh I know all that bit. Although frankly you could turn the heating up.” Donna interrupted, shivering slightly in her blazer. She joined up by the console.

“So, the whole wide universe, where do you want to go?” The Doctor asked already flipping levers. Donna leaned on one, thinking thoughtfully.

“I know exactly the place.” She told him, he waited for the location. When she didn't give him the location, he looked at her in confusion.

“Which is…?” He asked.

“Two and a half miles down that way.” She nodded behind her, giving him a nervous smile. He flicked the levers, heading the Tardis in that direction.

“What’s down that way then?” He asked, after few moments in silence.

“My Gramps, he has a telescope and I’d like to surprise him. If that’s ok…?” He hesitantly asked, blushing slightly.

“Of course, you can also open the Tardis, give him a wave.” He told her. She let out a whoop and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you!” She told him and then let go of him to run to the doors.

Donna opened the Tardis doors, seeing her Gramps at the telescope. She gave him a wave, the Doctor copying behind her. She watched as Wilf jumped up excitedly and she laughed.

When the Tardis flew off eventually, Donna closed the doors behind her and leant on them, smiling up at the Doctor who was watching her from his usual place at the console.

Donna felt a flutter of butterflies at the new chapter adventure in her life featuring the Doctor.”I am so glad I found you, Spaceman.” SHe told him gratefully, hugging him with one arm when she joined him. He wrapped an arm around her waist too.

“So am I.” They stayed in companionable silence until the Doctor broke it.”How about Ancient Rome as a first trip?” He suggested.

“Allons-y Doctor!” She told him excitedly. He grinned at her and pulled the lever.

“Allons-y!” the Doctor shouted and they watched as the Tardis dematerialised, the excitement palpable between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and review!!!


	4. Authors note

Hi guys I'm gonna drop this fic but if anyone wants to pick it up and finish it contact me at @smolfighttol on Tumblr in a PM and ill sort something, or @aesthetickindagirl on Instagram if that's easier

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think!!


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